CVE-2000-0955 in Virtual Central Office 4000
Summary
by MITRE
Cisco Virtual Central Office 4000 (VCO/4K) uses weak encryption to store usernames and passwords in the SNMP MIB, which allows an attacker who knows the community name to crack the password and gain privileges.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/25/2024
The Cisco Virtual Central Office 4000 (VCO/4K) represents a critical network infrastructure device that serves as a central management point for telecommunications services within enterprise environments. This vulnerability specifically targets the device's implementation of Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) management information base (MIB) storage mechanisms, where sensitive authentication credentials are improperly protected. The weakness lies in the encryption algorithm used to store administrative usernames and passwords within the MIB structure, creating a significant security gap that undermines the device's overall security posture. The vulnerability affects the device's ability to maintain secure credential storage, potentially exposing privileged access information to unauthorized parties.
The technical flaw manifests through the implementation of weak encryption algorithms that fail to provide adequate protection for sensitive data stored within the SNMP MIB. When administrators configure SNMP community strings for management access, the VCO/4K device stores associated usernames and passwords using cryptographic methods that are easily reversible or crackable. This weakness stems from the use of inadequate encryption standards that do not meet contemporary security requirements for protecting authentication credentials. The vulnerability essentially creates a backdoor mechanism where an attacker who discovers or guesses the SNMP community name can decrypt and retrieve stored administrative credentials, effectively bypassing normal authentication mechanisms. This implementation flaw directly violates security best practices for credential storage and demonstrates a failure to apply proper cryptographic protections for sensitive information.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple credential theft to encompass potential complete system compromise and unauthorized access to critical telecommunications infrastructure. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability gains elevated privileges within the VCO/4K environment, potentially allowing for full administrative control over the device and its managed network components. The vulnerability's exploitation does not require advanced technical skills beyond basic knowledge of SNMP protocols and password cracking techniques, making it particularly dangerous in environments where SNMP community strings may be weak or default configurations are maintained. This threat scenario creates a pathway for attackers to establish persistent access points within enterprise networks, potentially enabling further lateral movement and escalation of privileges across connected systems. The vulnerability also impacts network availability and integrity, as unauthorized administrators could modify device configurations or disrupt service delivery.
Security mitigations for this vulnerability require immediate implementation of multiple defensive strategies to protect against exploitation. Organizations should immediately change default SNMP community strings to strong, complex values that are not easily guessable or discoverable through common enumeration techniques. Network segmentation and access control measures should be implemented to limit SNMP access to only trusted management stations and administrators. Regular security audits should verify that SNMP MIB credential storage is properly secured and that no weak encryption mechanisms remain in use. Additionally, the device firmware should be upgraded to versions that address the underlying encryption weakness, as Cisco has likely released patches or updated implementations to resolve this specific vulnerability. The remediation process should also include monitoring for unauthorized SNMP access attempts and implementing network intrusion detection systems to identify potential exploitation attempts.
This vulnerability aligns with several CWE categories including CWE-327 (Use of a Broken or Risky Cryptographic Algorithm) and CWE-521 (Weak Password Requirements), demonstrating how poor cryptographic implementation can create cascading security failures. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques such as credential access through credential dumping and privilege escalation by exploiting weak encryption mechanisms. The vulnerability also reflects broader industry concerns about legacy device security implementations and the importance of cryptographic standards in protecting sensitive information. Organizations should consider this vulnerability as part of a comprehensive security assessment that includes inventory management, risk evaluation, and remediation planning for legacy network infrastructure components. The incident highlights the critical need for regular security assessments of network devices and the importance of maintaining current security patches and configuration standards to prevent exploitation of known vulnerabilities.