CVE-2002-1955 in NAS
Summary
by MITRE
Iomega NAS A300U uses cleartext LANMAN authentication when mounting CIFS/SMB drives, which allows remote attackers to perform a man-in-the-middle attack.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/06/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2002-1955 affects Iomega NAS A300U network-attached storage devices that implement CIFS/SMB file sharing protocols. This security flaw stems from the device's reliance on cleartext LANMAN authentication mechanisms when establishing connections to shared drives. The implementation of such unencrypted authentication methods creates a fundamental weakness in the network security posture of these devices. The vulnerability specifically impacts the authentication phase of SMB/CIFS communications where user credentials are transmitted in plain text format rather than being encrypted or hashed. This design flaw allows malicious actors positioned within the network to intercept and capture authentication credentials during the connection establishment process.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through man-in-the-middle attack vectors where attackers can position themselves between the client and the Iomega NAS device to capture the cleartext authentication traffic. The LANMAN authentication protocol used by this device transmits passwords in a format that can be easily decoded without requiring advanced cryptographic breaking techniques. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-312, which specifically addresses the exposure of sensitive information through cleartext transmission of sensitive data. The attack surface is particularly concerning because it does not require privileged access or complex exploitation techniques to capture the authentication credentials. Network traffic sniffing tools can easily capture the unencrypted password transmission, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous in shared network environments.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple credential theft to potentially enable complete unauthorized access to the network-attached storage system. Once attackers capture valid authentication credentials, they can gain full access to the shared files and directories hosted on the Iomega NAS device. This access can include read, write, and delete operations on sensitive data, potentially leading to data breaches, data corruption, or unauthorized data exfiltration. The vulnerability affects organizations that rely on Iomega NAS A300U devices for file sharing and storage services, particularly those operating in environments where network traffic is not properly secured with additional layers of encryption. The threat model for this vulnerability maps to ATT&CK technique T1075, which covers the use of legitimate credentials for unauthorized access, and T1566, which addresses credential harvesting through network sniffing.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations to address this vulnerability by upgrading to newer firmware versions that support encrypted authentication protocols such as SMBv2 or SMBv3 with proper encryption mechanisms. Network segmentation and the implementation of additional security controls such as VLANs and firewall rules can help reduce the attack surface. The use of encrypted tunnels such as SSH or IPSec for accessing the NAS devices provides an additional layer of protection for authentication traffic. Security administrators should also consider implementing network monitoring solutions that can detect and alert on suspicious authentication traffic patterns. The remediation strategy should include disabling the cleartext LANMAN authentication method and enforcing the use of more secure authentication mechanisms. Regular security assessments and network traffic analysis should be conducted to ensure that no unauthorized access attempts have occurred and that proper security controls are in place to prevent similar vulnerabilities in other network devices.