CVE-2002-1097 in VPN 3000 Concentrator
Summary
by MITRE
Cisco VPN 3000 Concentrator 2.2.x, and 3.x before 3.5.2, allows restricted administrators to obtain certificate passwords that are stored in plaintext in the HTML source code for Certificate Management pages.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/22/2024
The vulnerability described in CVE-2002-1097 represents a critical security flaw in Cisco VPN 3000 Concentrator software versions 2.2.x and 3.x prior to 3.5.2. This issue stems from improper handling of sensitive authentication credentials within the web-based management interface of the VPN concentrator. The vulnerability specifically affects restricted administrator accounts that have access to certificate management functionalities, creating an avenue for privilege escalation and credential theft.
The technical implementation of this flaw involves the storage of certificate passwords in plaintext format within the Hypertext Markup Language source code of the Certificate Management web pages. When restricted administrators access these pages, the HTML source code containing the cleartext passwords becomes visible to anyone who can view the page source or intercept the web traffic. This design flaw violates fundamental security principles for credential storage and transmission, as it exposes sensitive authentication information without any form of encryption or access control enforcement. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-312, which specifically addresses the exposure of sensitive information through cleartext storage, and represents a direct violation of the principle of least privilege and secure credential handling.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant and multifaceted. An attacker who can gain access to a restricted administrator account or intercept web traffic can immediately obtain certificate passwords and use them to establish unauthorized VPN connections or gain full administrative access to the VPN concentrator. This provides a direct path to network compromise and potential lateral movement within the protected network. The vulnerability can be exploited through various attack vectors including man-in-the-middle attacks, session hijacking, or by exploiting other vulnerabilities that allow access to the web interface. From an adversarial perspective, this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1552.001 for unsecured credentials and T1071.001 for application layer protocol usage, as it leverages the web-based management interface to extract sensitive information.
The implications extend beyond immediate credential theft to encompass broader network security implications. Certificate-based authentication systems rely on the assumption that certificate credentials remain confidential and are not exposed through insecure storage mechanisms. This vulnerability undermines the trust model of the entire certificate management system and potentially compromises the integrity of the entire VPN infrastructure. Organizations using affected Cisco VPN 3000 Concentrator versions face risks of unauthorized access, data exfiltration, and potential network infiltration. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of proper input validation and output encoding in web applications, as the system fails to properly sanitize or encrypt sensitive data before presenting it in the web interface. Security practitioners should note that this vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of implementing proper access controls and ensuring that sensitive information is never exposed in cleartext within web application source code or transmitted over unencrypted channels, which aligns with security frameworks such as NIST SP 800-53 controls for secure configuration and access control management.