CVE-2011-4005 in Small Business Srp520
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the Services Ready Platform Configuration Utility web interface on the Cisco Small Business SRP521W, SRP526W, and SRP527W with firmware before 1.1.24 and the Small Business SRP541W, SRP546W, and SRP547W with firmware before 1.2.1 allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators for requests that execute arbitrary commands, aka Bug ID CSCtr45124.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/02/2024
The CVE-2011-4005 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw in Cisco Small Business Services Ready Platform devices, specifically affecting the SRP521W, SRP526W, SRP527W, SRP541W, SRP546W, and SRP547W models. This vulnerability exists within the web-based configuration utility interface that administrators use to manage device settings and configurations. The flaw allows remote attackers to manipulate authenticated sessions and execute arbitrary commands on affected devices without proper authorization, creating a significant security risk for small business networks that rely on these devices for their networking infrastructure.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper anti-forgery tokens in the web interface forms used for administrative operations. When administrators access the configuration utility, the system fails to validate that requests originate from legitimate authenticated sessions, enabling attackers to craft malicious web pages or send specially crafted requests that appear to come from authenticated users. This weakness maps directly to CWE-352, which defines Cross-Site Request Forgery vulnerabilities, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.001 for initial access through spearphishing attachments. The vulnerability specifically affects devices running firmware versions prior to 1.1.24 for the SRP52xW models and 1.2.1 for the SRP54xW models, indicating that Cisco had already identified and patched this issue in later releases.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe for small business environments that depend on these networking devices, as it allows attackers to completely compromise administrative control over the affected routers. Once exploited, attackers can modify network configurations, change administrative passwords, disable security features, and potentially gain access to the entire network infrastructure. The ability to execute arbitrary commands means that threat actors could install malware, redirect traffic, or create backdoors for persistent access. This vulnerability particularly affects organizations that may not regularly update their firmware or that lack proper network segmentation, as it provides a straightforward path to network compromise. The attack vector requires no local access or advanced technical skills, making it particularly dangerous for organizations with limited cybersecurity resources.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately implement firmware updates from Cisco to address the CSRF flaw, ensuring that all impacted devices are running versions 1.1.24 or later for SRP52xW models and 1.2.1 or later for SRP54xW models. Network administrators should also consider implementing additional security controls such as network segmentation to limit the potential impact of a successful exploitation, and monitoring for unusual configuration changes that might indicate unauthorized access. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of maintaining up-to-date firmware and implementing proper authentication mechanisms, particularly for web-based administrative interfaces that handle critical network functions. Organizations should also review their overall network security posture and consider implementing web application firewalls or other protective measures to defend against similar CSRF attacks targeting their network infrastructure.