Incorrect Access Control and Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerabilities in Zkteco BioTime
Severity:
High
Description:
Zkteco BioTime is a popular time and attendance management software used by many organizations. The software provides an administrator interface that allows authorized users to perform various tasks, such as managing employees’ attendance, generating reports, and managing system settings.
However, Zkteco BioTime version < 8.5.3 Build:20200816.447 has multiple vulnerabilities that can be exploited by an authenticated administrator to read local files and compromise the system’s security.
The first vulnerability is an Incorrect Access Control vulnerability that affects multiple features, including resign, private message, manual log, time interval, attshift, and holiday. An authenticated administrator can exploit this vulnerability to access sensitive data and perform unauthorized actions on the system.
The second vulnerability is a Cross-Site Scripting vulnerability that occurs when exporting data as a PDF. The PDF generator does not properly sanitize user input, allowing an attacker to inject malicious scripts and read local files on the system.
An attacker exploiting these vulnerabilities can gain access to sensitive data, compromise the system’s security, and perform malicious activities that can result in significant financial losses or legal consequences.
Impact:
An attacker exploiting these vulnerabilities can gain full control over the Zkteco BioTime system, including sensitive employee data and attendance records. The attacker can modify attendance records, create false records, delete records, and perform other malicious activities that can result in significant financial losses or legal consequences. Additionally, the attacker can use the compromised system to launch further attacks against other systems and sensitive information.
Affected Versions:
Zkteco BioTime version < 8.5.3 Build:20200816.447
Solution:
The vendor has released a patch to address these vulnerabilities. Users of affected versions of Zkteco BioTime are advised to update to version 8.5.3 Build:20200816.447 or later as soon as possible.
Additionally, users are advised to implement the following best practices to mitigate the risk of these vulnerabilities:
- Implement access control and permission management to limit access to sensitive data and functions
- Implement input validation and sanitization in all user input fields
- Implement output encoding for all user-generated content
- Implement session management best practices, such as session expiration and cookie security flags
- Implement HTTPS encryption to prevent eavesdropping and man-in-the-middle attacks
- Educate employees and system administrators on the risks of these vulnerabilities and how to identify and report suspicious activity
Conclusion:
Incorrect Access Control and Cross-Site Scripting vulnerabilities can have severe consequences for both users and organizations. The vulnerabilities in Zkteco BioTime version < 8.5.3 Build:20200816.447 are a prime example of the risks associated with improper access control and input validation. Users are advised to update their software and implement best practices to mitigate the risk of these vulnerabilities.