CVE-2004-0593 in Secure Enterprise
Summary
by MITRE
Sygate Enforcer 3.5MR1 and earlier passes broadcast traffic before authentication, which could allow remote attackers to bypass filtering rules.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/08/2017
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2004-0593 affects Sygate Enforcer 3.5MR1 and earlier versions, representing a critical flaw in network security filtering mechanisms. This issue stems from the software's failure to properly authenticate network traffic before processing broadcast packets, creating a significant security gap that adversaries can exploit to circumvent established filtering policies. The vulnerability specifically targets the authentication flow within the network security appliance, where broadcast traffic is processed without proper verification of the sender's credentials or authorization status.
The technical implementation of this flaw allows remote attackers to send broadcast packets to the affected system without undergoing the standard authentication procedures that should normally validate incoming traffic. This misconfiguration enables unauthorized network participants to bypass the security controls that would typically be enforced after successful authentication. The system processes broadcast traffic in a manner that does not require prior verification of the packet source, effectively creating a backdoor through which malicious actors can inject traffic that would otherwise be filtered out based on configured security policies. This behavior fundamentally undermines the principle of least privilege and proper access control enforcement within the network security infrastructure.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents a severe risk to organizations relying on Sygate Enforcer for network protection. Attackers can exploit this weakness to bypass firewall rules, intrusion detection systems, and other security controls that depend on proper authentication before traffic processing. The impact extends beyond simple traffic bypass, potentially allowing for network reconnaissance, unauthorized data access, and the execution of malicious activities that would normally be blocked by the security appliance. This vulnerability particularly affects environments where broadcast traffic is commonly used for network discovery and communication, making it a significant concern for enterprise networks and critical infrastructure deployments.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-284, which addresses improper access control in software systems, and represents a clear failure in implementing proper authentication before authorization decisions. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this weakness maps to techniques involving privilege escalation and initial access through network-based attacks, specifically targeting the network ingress point where authentication should occur. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including upgrading to patched versions of Sygate Enforcer, configuring additional network segmentation measures, and implementing monitoring for unauthorized broadcast traffic patterns. The recommended approach involves deploying network access control lists that explicitly filter broadcast traffic before authentication, while also establishing continuous monitoring for suspicious network behavior that might indicate exploitation attempts. Organizations should also consider implementing network intrusion prevention systems that can detect and block anomalous broadcast traffic patterns that could indicate exploitation of this vulnerability.