CVE-2006-6433 in WorkCentre
Summary
by MITRE
Xerox WorkCentre and WorkCentre Pro before 12.060.17.000, 13.x before 13.060.17.000, and 14.x before 14.060.17.000 does not record accurate timestamps, which makes it easier for remote attackers to avoid detection when an audit tries to rely on these timestamps.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/19/2016
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2006-6433 affects Xerox WorkCentre and WorkCentre Pro multifunction devices across multiple firmware versions, specifically targeting the audit logging and timestamping mechanisms within these systems. This weakness represents a significant security concern for organizations relying on these devices for document management and print operations. The flaw lies in the device's inability to maintain accurate timestamp records during audit events, creating a window of opportunity for malicious actors to manipulate or evade detection systems that depend on temporal data for security monitoring.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate timestamp generation and logging mechanisms within the device firmware. When audit events occur, such as document printing, scanning, or administrative actions, the system should record precise timestamps to maintain an accurate audit trail. However, the affected Xerox devices fail to properly synchronize or maintain accurate time data, resulting in timestamps that may be incorrect, inconsistent, or easily manipulated. This issue directly relates to CWE-200, which addresses information exposure, and CWE-225, concerning weak timestamp validation, as the system's failure to properly record temporal data creates exploitable conditions for attackers.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple logging failures, creating substantial risks for organizations implementing security monitoring and compliance requirements. Attackers can exploit the inaccurate timestamp data to conduct unauthorized activities without detection, as security systems relying on these timestamps may fail to identify suspicious behavior patterns or establish proper audit trails. This weakness particularly affects environments where regulatory compliance requires precise documentation of user activities, such as healthcare, financial services, or government sectors. The vulnerability enables attackers to potentially perform time-based attacks, manipulate audit logs, or conduct operations that would normally be flagged by temporal anomaly detection systems, effectively undermining the integrity of the device's security monitoring capabilities.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including enhanced network monitoring to detect anomalous timestamp patterns, deployment of additional logging mechanisms outside the affected devices, and regular audit trail verification processes. The mitigation strategy should include configuring network time protocol synchronization to ensure accurate timekeeping across the network infrastructure, implementing network segmentation to limit device access, and establishing manual verification procedures for audit logs. Security teams should also consider implementing behavioral analytics tools that can detect inconsistencies in device behavior patterns independent of timestamp accuracy. This vulnerability highlights the importance of maintaining proper time synchronization in networked devices and demonstrates how seemingly minor logging flaws can create significant security risks. The attack surface is particularly relevant for organizations using the MITRE ATT&CK framework, as this weakness could enable techniques such as credential access through audit log manipulation or privilege escalation by avoiding detection mechanisms that rely on accurate temporal data for security event correlation and analysis.