CVE-2006-6718 in At-9000 24 Ethernetswitch
Summary
by MITRE
The Allied Telesis AT-9000/24 Ethernet switch has a default password for its admin account, "manager," which allows remote attackers to perform unauthorized actions.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/04/2017
The Allied Telesis AT-9000/24 Ethernet switch represents a critical network infrastructure device that suffers from a fundamental security flaw involving default credentials. This vulnerability stems from the device's configuration where the administrative account "manager" is pre-configured with a weak default password that remains unchanged in many deployments. The presence of such default credentials creates an immediate and severe security risk for organizations that fail to properly configure their network equipment during deployment. This issue directly violates security best practices and represents a classic example of insufficient initial configuration security measures that leave network devices exposed to unauthorized access from remote locations.
The technical flaw manifests as a credential-based authentication weakness that allows remote attackers to gain administrative privileges on the switch without requiring any specialized tools or complex exploitation techniques. Attackers can simply connect to the device's management interface using the default username "manager" and the corresponding password, which is widely known and documented in various security databases and forums. This vulnerability operates at the application layer of the network stack and can be exploited through standard network protocols such as telnet, ssh, or web-based management interfaces depending on the switch configuration. The flaw is classified under CWE-798 as the use of hard-coded credentials and can be mapped to ATT&CK technique T1078.101 which covers legitimate credentials in the context of network device administration.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends far beyond simple unauthorized access, as it provides attackers with complete administrative control over the network switch. This level of access enables adversaries to modify network configurations, implement man-in-the-middle attacks, perform port mirroring for packet capture, disable security features, and potentially create backdoors for persistent access. Organizations may experience significant disruption to their network services, data exfiltration, or complete network compromise when attackers leverage this vulnerability. The remote nature of the attack means that adversaries can exploit this flaw from anywhere on the internet without requiring physical access to the premises. Network segmentation becomes ineffective against this attack vector since the default credentials bypass the network's logical security boundaries.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability must prioritize immediate action to address the default credential issue. Organizations should implement mandatory password change policies during initial device deployment and ensure that default administrative accounts are disabled or renamed with strong, unique credentials. Network segmentation and access control lists should be configured to restrict management interface access to authorized administrative workstations only. Regular security audits and network scans should be conducted to identify devices with default credentials. The implementation of network access control measures such as 802.1X authentication and secure remote access protocols can provide additional layers of protection. Organizations should also establish procedures for regular credential rotation and maintain up-to-date inventories of all network devices to ensure comprehensive coverage of security measures. This vulnerability highlights the critical importance of following the principle of least privilege and the need for robust initial security configuration practices in network infrastructure devices.