NetWitness : Apache Vulnerability | Log4j2 (CVE-2021-44228)

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A vulnerability was recently discovered in Log4j, a commonly used open source logging library.  

Applies To 

CVE-2021-44228 

CVE-2021-45046 : NetWitness is monitoring the current situation as it unfolds and as of now, our analysis does not indicate a higher risk. The current mitigation guidance listed here still remain applicable as we work on providing patches that address these vulnerabilities

Issue

NetWitness uses Log4j and is vulnerable to the attack. For the vulnerability to be successfully exploited: 

• The attacker must be able to gain access to the NetWitness Platform login screen 
• The network allows outbound LDAP connections from NetWitness Platform to external sites 

NetWitness Platform 11.4 : If these preconditions are met, then it is theoretically possible to exploit the vulnerability to gain shell access to the NetWitness Platform.

NetWitness Platform 11.5 and later : If these preconditions are met, the Log4j packages cannot be exploited with remote code execution via LDAP, however, it is possible to leak system configuration data.     

RSA NetWitness is actively working on patches for 11.5, 11.6 and 11.7 and will follow up with additional communication once that patch is available.  

In many environments, we expect the preconditions above not to be met and the vulnerability to be unexploitable. We encourage all customers to validate their systems and take the appropriate immediate action. Please see the mitigation instructions below on how to change your NetWitness Platform deployment to prevent the exploit from succeeding.  

Affected Platforms 

All NetWitness Platforms currently supported on 11.4, 11.5, 11.6, 11.7  

Mitigation Steps 

To mitigate the affected NetWitness deployments, NetWitness administrators should perform the following: 

• On the NetWitness Admin Server Host and Analyst UI: 

         1. Append the following parameters to JAVA_OPTIONS: 

• • -Dlog4j2.formatMsgNoLookups=true
  • -Dcom.sun.jndi.cosnaming.object.trustURLCodebase=false

       in the following file: 

              /etc/default/jetty.user (if jetty.user does not exist, use /etc/default/jetty)          

          2. Restart jetty as follows: 

• • systemctl restart jetty 

          For more information on creating custom jetty configuration, see the Manage Custom Jetty Configuration in

          the System Maintenance Guide. 

          NOTE : Depending on the version, these settings may be reverted during a chef run and may need to be configured again.
          NOTE : For customers on NetWitness 11.4 version, there will be no patch available, and the mitigation steps should be                                  performed.

• If you have NetWitness Orchestrator in your deployment, do the following:  
  • Make the following change on the ThreatConnect Application server:   

                  1. Add the following to line 6 of <threatconnect-home>/app/start.sh

                      export JAVA_OPTS="-Dlog4j2.formatMsgNoLookups=true" 

                  2.  Restart ThreatConnect Application

• • Make the following change on the ThreatConnect Environment Server:   

                    1.  Add the following to line 15 of <env-server-home>/run.sh 

                        export JAVA_OPTS="-Dlog4j2.formatMsgNoLookups=true" 

                    2. Restart Environment Server. 

• For all NetWitness Platform environments, please coordinate with your IT Administrators to ensure there are firewall rules for blocking outbound LDAP connections. 

This page will be updated with relevant information as NetWitness receives such detail. Please check back for more information or direct specific concerns to NetWitness Customer Support.  

EOPS Policy

RSA has a defined End of Primary Support policy associated with all major versions. Please refer to the Product Version Life Cycle for additional details.

Legal Information

Read and use the information in this RSA Security Advisory to assist in avoiding any situation that might arise from the problems described herein. If you have any questions regarding this advisory, contact RSA Customer Support. RSA Security LLC and its affiliates distribute RSA Security Advisories in order to bring to the attention of users of the affected RSA products, important security information.

RSA recommends that all users determine the applicability of this information to their individual situations and take appropriate action. The information set forth herein is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. RSA disclaims all warranties, either express or implied, including the warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title and non-infringement.

In no event shall RSA, its affiliates or its suppliers, be liable for any damages whatsoever including direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, loss of business profits or special damages, even if RSA, its affiliates or its suppliers have been advised of the possibility of such damages. Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages, so the foregoing limitation may not apply.