CVE-2018-20735: An issue was discovered in BMC PATROL Agent through 11.3.01. It was found that the PatrolCli application can allow for lateral movement and escalation...

Description

An issue was discovered in BMC PATROL Agent through 11.3.01. It was found that the PatrolCli application can allow for lateral movement and escalation of privilege inside a Windows Active Directory environment. It was found that by default the PatrolCli / PATROL Agent application only verifies if the password provided for the given username is correct; it does not verify the permissions of the user on the network. This means if you have PATROL Agent installed on a high value target (domain controller), you can use a low privileged domain user to authenticate with PatrolCli and then connect to the domain controller and run commands as SYSTEM. This means any user on a domain can escalate to domain admin through PATROL Agent. NOTE: the vendor disputes this because they believe it is adequate to prevent this escalation by means of a custom, non-default configuration

Metrics

EPSS Probability

7.49%

93.7th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

CWE-287

Affected Software

Vendor	Product	Versions
Bmc	Patrol Agent	<= 11.3.01

References

https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/46556/Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
https://www.securifera.com/blog/2018/12/17/bmc-patrol-agent-domain-user-to-domain-admin/Exploit, Third Party Advisory
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/46556/Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
https://www.securifera.com/blog/2018/12/17/bmc-patrol-agent-domain-user-to-domain-admin/Exploit, Third Party Advisory

Timeline

Published: Jan 17, 2019
Last Modified: Jun 17, 2026
Status: Modified

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2018-20735?

An issue was discovered in BMC PATROL Agent through 11.3.01. It was found that the PatrolCli application can allow for lateral movement and escalation of privilege inside a Windows Active Directory environment. It was found that by default the PatrolCli / PATROL Agent application only verifies if the password provided for the given username is correct; it does not verify the permissions of the user on the network. This means if you have PATROL Agent installed on a high value target (domain controller), you can use a low privileged domain user to authenticate with PatrolCli and then connect to the domain controller and run commands as SYSTEM. This means any user on a domain can escalate to domain admin through PATROL Agent. NOTE: the vendor disputes this because they believe it is adequate to prevent this escalation by means of a custom, non-default configuration

How severe is CVE-2018-20735?

Severity scoring for CVE-2018-20735 is pending analysis. The EPSS model estimates a 7.49% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2018-20735?

Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.

How Strix Helps

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