📄 Description (English)
OpenHarness prior to commit dd1d235 contains a command injection vulnerability that allows remote gateway users with chat access to invoke sensitive administrative commands by exploiting insufficient distinction between local-only and remote-safe commands in the gateway handler. Attackers can execute administrative commands such as /permissions full_auto through remote chat sessions to change permission modes of a running OpenHarness instance without operator authorization.
🤖 AI Executive Summary
CVE-2026-40502 is a critical command injection vulnerability in OpenHarness that allows remote users with chat access to execute sensitive administrative commands without authorization. The vulnerability stems from insufficient distinction between local-only and remote-safe commands, enabling attackers to modify permission modes and potentially compromise system integrity. With a CVSS score of 8.8 and no patch currently available, this poses an immediate risk to organizations using OpenHarness in production environments.
📄 Description (Arabic)
🤖 AI Intelligence Analysis Analyzed: Apr 23, 2026 09:45
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Impact Assessment
This vulnerability primarily impacts Saudi organizations using OpenHarness for infrastructure automation and orchestration, particularly in: (1) Government agencies and NCA-regulated entities relying on OpenHarness for system administration; (2) Banking and financial institutions (SAMA-regulated) using OpenHarness for backend automation; (3) Telecommunications providers (STC, Mobily) utilizing OpenHarness for network orchestration; (4) Energy sector organizations including ARAMCO subsidiaries using OpenHarness for operational technology management. The ability to execute unauthorized administrative commands could lead to unauthorized access escalation, system configuration changes, and potential data exfiltration.
🏢 Affected Saudi Sectors
Government and Public Administration
Banking and Financial Services
Telecommunications
Energy and Utilities
Healthcare
Critical Infrastructure
🎯 MITRE ATT&CK Techniques
T1059 - Command and Scripting Interpreter (command injection)
T1548 - Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism (privilege escalation)
T1078 - Valid Accounts (exploitation of chat access)
T1087 - Account Discovery (enumeration of permissions)
T1098 - Account Manipulation (permission mode changes)
T1133 - External Remote Services (remote chat access)
T1021 - Remote Services (remote command execution)
⚖️ Saudi Risk Score (AI)
8.5
/ 10.0
🔧 Remediation Steps (English)
Immediate Actions:
1. Audit all OpenHarness instances for remote chat access configurations and document current users with chat permissions
2. Implement network-level access controls to restrict remote chat access to trusted IP ranges only
3. Enable comprehensive logging and monitoring of all chat-based commands and administrative operations
4. Review audit logs for suspicious command execution patterns, particularly /permissions commands
Compensating Controls (until patch available):
5. Disable remote chat access entirely if not operationally critical; restrict to local-only access
6. Implement application-level command filtering to block sensitive administrative commands (/permissions, /config, /admin) from remote chat sessions
7. Deploy Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block command injection patterns in chat payloads
8. Enforce multi-factor authentication for any remaining remote administrative access
9. Implement role-based access control (RBAC) with principle of least privilege for chat users
Detection Rules:
10. Monitor for chat messages containing command injection patterns: semicolons, pipes, backticks, $(), command substitution syntax
11. Alert on any /permissions, /config, /admin commands originating from remote chat sessions
12. Track failed authentication attempts and permission denial events
13. Establish baseline of normal administrative command patterns and alert on deviations
Patching:
14. Monitor OpenHarness project repository for commit dd1d235 or later releases
15. Prepare change management process for immediate patching once available
16. Test patches in non-production environment before deployment
🔧 خطوات المعالجة (العربية)
الإجراءات الفورية:
1. تدقيق جميع مثيلات OpenHarness للتحقق من تكوينات الوصول إلى الدردشة البعيدة وتوثيق جميع المستخدمين الحاليين بأذونات الدردشة
2. تطبيق عناصر تحكم الوصول على مستوى الشبكة لتقييد الوصول إلى الدردشة البعيدة على نطاقات IP موثوقة فقط
3. تفعيل السجلات الشاملة ومراقبة جميع الأوامر المستندة إلى الدردشة والعمليات الإدارية
4. مراجعة سجلات التدقيق للبحث عن أنماط تنفيذ أوامر مريبة، خاصة أوامر /permissions
عناصر التحكم البديلة (حتى توفر التصحيح):
5. تعطيل الوصول إلى الدردشة البعيدة بالكامل إذا لم يكن ضرورياً تشغيلياً؛ تقييده على الوصول المحلي فقط
6. تطبيق تصفية الأوامر على مستوى التطبيق لحظر الأوامر الإدارية الحساسة (/permissions, /config, /admin) من جلسات الدردشة البعيدة
7. نشر قواعد جدار حماية تطبيقات الويب (WAF) للكشف عن أنماط حقن الأوامر وحظرها في حمولات الدردشة
8. فرض المصادقة متعددة العوامل لأي وصول إداري بعيد متبقي
9. تطبيق التحكم في الوصول المستند إلى الأدوار (RBAC) مع مبدأ أقل امتياز لمستخدمي الدردشة
قواعد الكشف:
10. مراقبة رسائل الدردشة التي تحتوي على أنماط حقن الأوامر: الفواصل المنقوطة، الأنابيب، علامات الاقتباس العكسية، $()، بناء جملة استبدال الأوامر
11. التنبيه على أي أوامر /permissions أو /config أو /admin من جلسات الدردشة البعيدة
12. تتبع محاولات المصادقة الفاشلة وأحداث رفض الأذونات
13. إنشاء خط أساس لأنماط الأوامر الإدارية العادية والتنبيه على الانحرافات
التصحيح:
14. مراقبة مستودع مشروع OpenHarness للحصول على الالتزام dd1d235 أو الإصدارات الأحدث
15. تحضير عملية إدارة التغيير للتصحيح الفوري عند توفره
16. اختبار التصحيحات في بيئة غير الإنتاج قبل النشر
📋 Regulatory Compliance Mapping
🟢 NCA ECC 2024
ECC 2024 A.5.1.1 - Access Control Policy (unauthorized command execution)
ECC 2024 A.8.1.1 - User Endpoint Devices (remote access security)
ECC 2024 A.8.2.1 - Privileged Access Rights (administrative command restrictions)
ECC 2024 A.8.3.1 - Access Restriction (least privilege principle violation)
ECC 2024 A.12.4.1 - Event Logging (audit trail of administrative commands)
ECC 2024 A.12.4.3 - Administrator and Operator Logs (command execution tracking)
🔵 SAMA CSF
SAMA CSF ID.AM-2 - Asset Management (inventory of OpenHarness instances)
SAMA CSF PR.AC-1 - Access Control Policy (authentication and authorization)
SAMA CSF PR.AC-3 - Access Enforcement (remote command restrictions)
SAMA CSF PR.AC-4 - Access Rights (principle of least privilege)
SAMA CSF DE.CM-1 - Detection Processes (monitoring for unauthorized commands)
SAMA CSF DE.AE-1 - Anomalies and Events (command injection detection)
🟡 ISO 27001:2022
ISO 27001:2022 A.5.2 - Information Security Policies (access control policy)
ISO 27001:2022 A.6.2 - Internal Organization (roles and responsibilities)
ISO 27001:2022 A.8.2 - Privileged Access Rights (administrative access control)
ISO 27001:2022 A.8.3 - Information Access Restriction (least privilege)
ISO 27001:2022 A.8.4 - Access to Cryptography and Keys (if applicable)
ISO 27001:2022 A.12.4 - Logging (event logging and monitoring)
🟣 PCI DSS v4.0.1
PCI DSS 2.1 - Default Security Parameters (secure configuration)
PCI DSS 6.2 - Security Patches (vulnerability management)
PCI DSS 7.1 - Access Control (least privilege)
PCI DSS 8.1 - User Identification (authentication)
PCI DSS 10.2 - User Actions (logging and monitoring)
🔗 References & Sources 3
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https://github.com/HKUDS/OpenHarness/commit/dd1d235450dd987b20bff01b7bfb02fe8620a0af
disclosure@vulncheck.com
https://github.com/HKUDS/OpenHarness/pull/127
disclosure@vulncheck.com
https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openharness-remote-administrative-command-injectio...
disclosure@vulncheck.com