CVE-2005-0745 in ATA
Summary
by MITRE
utstarcom ian-02ex voip analog terminal adaptor (ata) allows local users to bypass ata access restrictions by dialing "*#26845#" and causing a device reset.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/21/2017
The CVE-2005-0745 vulnerability affects the utstarcom ian-02ex voice over internet protocol analog terminal adaptor which represents a critical access control flaw in networked telephony equipment. This device serves as a bridge between traditional telephone lines and internet protocols, making it a significant component in enterprise communication infrastructure. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and access control mechanisms within the device's dialing interface, specifically in how it processes special code sequences that should typically be restricted to authorized administrative functions.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through a specific sequence of digits "*#26845#" that when dialed through the device's telephone interface triggers an unintended device reset operation. This reset functionality, which should be protected by proper authentication mechanisms, can be invoked by any local user with access to the device's telephone interface. The flaw operates at the application layer of the device's operating system, where the dialing parser fails to properly validate incoming commands against authorized access levels. This represents a classic example of inadequate privilege separation and insufficient command validation, commonly categorized under CWE-284 (Improper Access Control) and CWE-254 (Security Misconfiguration).
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access to encompass potential disruption of critical communication services within enterprise environments. Local attackers who can access the device's telephone interface can effectively perform a denial of service attack by repeatedly triggering device resets, which may result in communication outages for users connected to the network. Additionally, the reset operation could potentially clear important configuration settings or logs that might be needed for security monitoring and incident response activities. This vulnerability particularly affects organizations that rely on analog terminal adaptors for their communication infrastructure and may be exploited as part of broader network reconnaissance efforts to identify weak points in the communication network architecture.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including disabling unnecessary telephone interface access where possible, implementing proper access controls on the device's configuration interface, and ensuring that administrative functions require explicit authentication before execution. Network segmentation should be employed to isolate critical telephony infrastructure from general user access points. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of secure device configuration practices and regular security assessments of networked telephony equipment. From an att&ck framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving privilege escalation and denial of service, specifically targeting the device's administrative functions through social engineering or physical access vectors that allow local command execution. Organizations should also consider implementing network monitoring to detect unusual reset patterns and ensure proper patch management for telephony equipment to prevent similar vulnerabilities in future deployments.