CVE-2012-3268 in HP
Summary
by MITRE
Certain HP Access Controller, Fabric Module, Firewall, Router, Switch, and UTM Appliance products; certain HP 3Com Access Controller, Router, and Switch products; certain HP H3C Access Controller, Firewall, Router, Switch, and Switch and Route Processing Unit products; and certain Huawei Firewall/Gateway, Router, Switch, and Wireless products do not properly implement access control as defined in h3c-user.mib 2.0 and hh3c-user.mib 2.0, which allows remote authenticated users to discover credentials in UserInfoEntry values via an SNMP request with the read-only community.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/27/2024
This vulnerability resides in multiple networking and security appliances from major vendors including HP, H3C, and Huawei. The flaw exists in the implementation of access control mechanisms within SNMP management interfaces, specifically affecting products such as access controllers, firewalls, routers, switches, and unified threat management appliances. The vulnerability stems from improper handling of SNMP requests that should be restricted to authenticated users with appropriate privileges. When remote authenticated users send SNMP requests using read-only community strings, they can access UserInfoEntry values that contain sensitive credential information. This represents a significant weakness in the network device's security architecture where the principle of least privilege is not properly enforced. The affected MIB files h3c-user.mib 2.0 and hh3c-user.mib 2.0 define the structure for user information but fail to properly restrict access to sensitive fields containing credentials.
The technical implementation flaw allows for information disclosure through SNMP enumeration techniques that exploit the lack of proper access control checks within the MIB structure. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability by sending specially crafted SNMP GET requests to devices running the affected software versions. The read-only community string, which should only provide read-only access to non-sensitive information, becomes a vector for credential harvesting when the system fails to properly validate access permissions for UserInfoEntry components. This vulnerability directly relates to CWE-284, which describes improper access control, and CWE-312, which addresses the exposure of sensitive information through cleartext storage or transmission. The vulnerability demonstrates a classic case of insufficient authorization checks where the system assumes that read-only access should not grant access to credential information, but fails to enforce this restriction properly.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe as it allows attackers to harvest credentials from network infrastructure devices, potentially enabling further attacks within the network perimeter. Once credentials are obtained, attackers can perform additional reconnaissance, escalate privileges, or gain unauthorized access to network resources. This vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it affects multiple vendors and product lines, making it a widespread concern across enterprise network environments. The attack vector requires only remote authenticated access, which means that attackers who have already gained some level of access to the network can exploit this vulnerability to escalate their privileges. The vulnerability can be exploited as part of a broader attack chain where initial access is used to gather credentials that can then be used for lateral movement and privilege escalation. This aligns with ATT&CK technique T1552.001 for unsecured credentials and T1078.004 for valid accounts.
Mitigation strategies should focus on implementing proper access control measures for SNMP interfaces, including restricting SNMP community strings to specific IP addresses and implementing stricter authorization checks for MIB objects. Network administrators should ensure that only necessary SNMP access is granted and that read-only community strings are not used for accessing sensitive information. The affected vendors should be consulted for patches and firmware updates that properly implement access control restrictions. Additionally, network segmentation and monitoring of SNMP traffic can help detect unauthorized access attempts. Organizations should also implement network access control policies that limit which systems can communicate with network infrastructure devices and consider disabling SNMP if it is not essential for operations. The vulnerability highlights the importance of proper security testing and validation of access control mechanisms in network infrastructure devices, particularly those handling sensitive user information through management interfaces.