Nagios Exposure Scanner

Nagios is a widely used open-source software tool designed for monitoring systems, networks, and infrastructure. It is popular among IT professionals, system administrators, and DevOps teams to track the health and performance of their IT environments, including servers, applications, and network devices. Nagios provides real-time alerts and notifications, helping organizations ensure high availability and reliability of their services. The tool is flexible and can be configured to monitor various network protocols, infrastructure components, and applications. It is often used in enterprise environments to manage complex infrastructures and is valued for its ability to integrate with various plugins and add-ons. Nagios helps organizations promptly identify and resolve issues, thus maintaining operational efficiency.

This scanner detects a specific vulnerability in Nagios known as a detection issue. The vulnerability allows unauthorized users to access the current status page in Nagios without appropriate authentication. This exposure can lead to sensitive information disclosure about the monitored network and systems' status. The detected vulnerability is categorized under CWE-200, relating to "Information Exposure." The current status page can potentially reveal critical data about network status and monitored resources. Detecting this vulnerability is crucial to maintaining the confidentiality and integrity of the monitored environment. Organizations must address this exposure to prevent unwanted access and potential data breach risks.

The vulnerability lies in the Nagios web interface's status page, which can be accessed via specific URLs such as "/nagios/cgi-bin/status.cgi" or its versions for Nagios 3 and 4. These endpoints display the current network status without requiring proper authentication, increasing the risk of information leakage. The scanner specifically targets these paths to verify if they can be accessed without credentials. The issue results from improper configuration, leading to exposure of sensitive information about network infrastructure. The vulnerability is detectable by searching for specific keywords on the status pages, which indicate unauthorized access. This detailed understanding of the endpoints and parameters aids in effective identification of the vulnerability.

If exploited, this vulnerability can lead to the unauthorized disclosure of network and system statuses and configurations. Malicious attackers can leverage this information to plan further attacks, such as identifying weak points in the infrastructure or launching denial-of-service (DoS) attacks on critical systems. Additionally, exposure can undermine the organization's overall security posture by making sensitive internal network information publicly accessible. This information disclosure might also contribute to insider threats or competitive intelligence gathering if accessed by unauthorized internal users. It ultimately undermines trust in the security controls of the organization.

REFERENCES

• https://www.exploit-db.com/ghdb/6918