CVE-2024-42450
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedThe Versa Director uses PostgreSQL (Postgres) to store operational and configuration data. It is also needed for High Availability function of the Versa Director. The default configuration has a common password across all instances of Versa Director. By default, Versa Director configures Postgres to listen on all network interfaces. This combination allows an unauthenticated attacker to access and administer the database or read local filesystem contents to escalate privileges on the system. Exploitation Status: Versa Networks is not aware of this exploitation in any production systems. A proof of concept exists in the lab environment. Workarounds or Mitigation: Starting with the latest 22.1.4 version of Versa Director, the software will automatically restrict access to the Postgres and HA ports to only the local and peer Versa Directors. For older releases, Versa recommends performing manual hardening of HA ports. Please refer to the following link for the steps https://docs.versa-networks.com/Solutions/System_Hardening/Perform_Manual_Hardening_for_Versa_Director#Secure_HA_Ports This vulnerability is not exploitable on Versa Directors if published Firewall guidelines are implemented. We have validated that no Versa-hosted head ends have been affected by this vulnerability. All Versa-hosted head ends are patched and hardened. Please contact Versa Technical Support or Versa account team for any further assistance. Software Download Links: 22.1.4: https://support.versa-networks.com/support/solutions/articles/23000026708-release-22-1-4
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceVersa Director uses PostgreSQL for operational data and High Availability. The default configuration uses a common password across all instances and has Postgres listening on all network interfaces, allowing unauthenticated attackers to access the database, read local filesystem contents, and escalate privileges on the system.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm Versa Director is installedRun 'rpm -qa | grep -i versa' or check for /opt/versa directory presenceAffected if Versa Director software is found on the system
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Identify PostgreSQL process and listening addressRun 'netstat -tlnp | grep 5432' or 'ss -tlnp | grep 5432' to see if PostgreSQL is listening and on which IP addressesAffected if PostgreSQL listens on 0.0.0.0 or on all interfaces rather than localhost or specific internal IPs
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Check PostgreSQL authentication configurationExamine /opt/versa/var/db/postgresql/pg_hba.conf or the pg_hba.conf location in your PostgreSQL data directory for 'trust' or default/commonly-known password authentication methodsAffected if Authentication is set to 'trust' or uses default Versa credentials without restriction to localhost
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Verify firewall rules for PostgreSQL portRun 'iptables -L -n' or check system firewall configuration to see if port 5432 (or the configured PostgreSQL port) is exposed to untrusted networksAffected if PostgreSQL port is accessible from external/untrusted network addresses
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Check HA configuration for exposed servicesReview Versa Director HA configuration files in /opt/versa director and related directories for any services bound to 0.0.0.0 rather than specific internal interfacesAffected if HA-related services or ports are bound to all network interfaces
A system is affected if Versa Director is installed with PostgreSQL listening on all network interfaces (0.0.0.0) using default authentication or exposed to untrusted networks.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scopedUpgrade to Versa Director 22.1.4 or later, which automatically restricts Postgres/HA ports to local and peer Directors only; alternatively, implement manual hardening per vendor documentation and ensure firewall guidelines are followed.
22.1.4 or later
- Obtain Versa Director 22.1.4 software from https://support.versa-networks.com/support/solutions/articles/23000026708-release-22-1-4
- Follow standard Versa Director upgrade procedure to apply version 22.1.4
- Verify that after upgrade, Postgres and HA ports are automatically restricted to local and peer Versa Directors
- Confirm the automatic port restriction is functioning by checking network listen configuration
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-42450 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2024-42450 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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