1. Introduction
The Windows Display Driver Enumeration vulnerability means Nessus can identify the display drivers installed on a system using WMI. This isn’t a direct compromise, but it gives attackers information about your environment which could help them plan further attacks. Systems running Windows are usually affected. A successful attack following this enumeration may impact confidentiality by revealing system configuration details.
2. Technical Explanation
Nessus uses the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) to query for display driver information. The vulnerability isn’t a flaw in the drivers themselves, but that WMI exposes this data. No specific CVE is currently associated with this enumeration issue. An attacker could use this information to identify vulnerable drivers and target systems with exploits designed for those versions. All Windows platforms are potentially affected.
- Root cause: WMI allows querying of display driver details without sufficient restriction.
- Exploit mechanism: An attacker uses a tool like Nessus or a custom script to query WMI and gather information about installed drivers.
- Scope: All versions of Windows are potentially affected, as the issue relates to the availability of WMI data.
3. Detection and Assessment
You can confirm if your system is vulnerable by checking which display drivers Nessus reports. A thorough method involves reviewing WMI queries for unexpected activity.
- Quick checks: Use the Device Manager to list installed display adapters and their driver versions.
- Scanning: Nessus plugin ID 13985 can identify this enumeration issue. This is an example only.
- Logs and evidence: Check Windows Event Logs for WMI activity related to driver queries, although specific event IDs are unlikely.
wmic path Win32_VideoController get name, DriverVersion4. Solution / Remediation Steps
There is no direct fix for this enumeration issue as it relates to information exposure rather than a code flaw. Mitigation focuses on reducing the attack surface and monitoring for suspicious activity.
4.1 Preparation
- Dependencies: None. Roll back involves reverting any monitoring or security policy changes made.
- Change window needs and approvals depend on your organisation’s policies.
4.2 Implementation
- Step 1: Review firewall rules to ensure unnecessary WMI access is blocked.
- Step 2: Implement endpoint detection and response (EDR) or intrusion detection systems (IDS) to monitor for suspicious WMI queries.
- Step 3: Regularly review system logs for unusual activity related to WMI.
4.3 Config or Code Example
Before
No specific configuration example exists, as this is about monitoring rather than a direct setting.After
Configure your firewall or EDR solution to alert on unusual WMI activity. For example, block inbound WMI connections from untrusted sources.4.4 Security Practices Relevant to This Vulnerability
Least privilege and monitoring are the most relevant practices for this issue. Least privilege reduces impact if an attacker gains access. Monitoring helps detect suspicious activity.
- Practice 1: Implement least privilege principles, limiting user accounts’ access to only necessary resources.
- Practice 2: Regularly monitor system logs and network traffic for unusual WMI queries or other suspicious behaviour.
4.5 Automation (Optional)
# PowerShell example to log WMI queries (example only - requires testing)
# Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Process | Where-Object {$_.CommandLine -match "wmic"} | Select-Object CommandLine, ProcessId | Tee-Object -FilePath C:logswmi_queries.log5. Verification / Validation
Confirm the fix by verifying that your monitoring systems are alerting on suspicious WMI activity. Re-run Nessus to confirm it still enumerates drivers, but ensure alerts are triggered. Perform a simple service smoke test to verify core functionality remains unaffected.
- Post-fix check: Verify your EDR or IDS solution logs any attempts to query WMI from unexpected sources.
- Re-test: Re-run Nessus plugin ID 13985 and confirm alerts are triggered if enumeration occurs.
- Smoke test: Confirm users can still print, access network shares, and perform other core tasks.
- Monitoring: Review your EDR or IDS logs for any new WMI query events that may indicate malicious activity. This is an example only.
Check your SIEM or EDR solution for alerts related to WMI queries.6. Preventive Measures and Monitoring
- Baselines: Update your Windows security baseline or Group Policy Object (GPO) to include rules for monitoring WMI access.
- Pipelines: Integrate vulnerability scanning tools into your CI/CD pipeline to identify systems with known vulnerabilities.
- Asset and patch process: Implement a regular patch cycle, reviewing vendor advisories for critical updates.
7. Risks, Side Effects, and Roll Back
- Risk or side effect 1: Blocking necessary WMI traffic may cause application errors.
- Risk or side effect 2: Increased alert volume from monitoring systems requires careful tuning to avoid false positives.
- Roll back: Revert any firewall rules or GPO changes made during implementation.
8. References and Resources
- Vendor advisory or bulletin: http://www.nessus.org/u?b6e87533
- NVD or CVE entry: No specific CVE is associated with this enumeration issue.
- Product or platform documentation relevant to the fix: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows-server/administration/wmi/