CVE-2013-4805 in Integrated Lights-out
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in HP Integrated Lights-Out 3 (aka iLO3) firmware before 1.60 and 4 (aka iLO4) firmware before 1.30 allows remote attackers to bypass authentication via unknown vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/11/2017
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2013-4805 represents a critical authentication bypass flaw affecting HP Integrated Lights-Out 3 and 4 remote management firmware versions. This issue impacts the fundamental security architecture of HP's server management interfaces, which are essential components for remote system administration and monitoring. The vulnerability exists in the firmware implementations of iLO3 versions prior to 1.60 and iLO4 versions prior to 1.30, creating a persistent security weakness that remote attackers can exploit without requiring valid credentials or prior authentication.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient authentication mechanisms within the remote management firmware, allowing unauthorized access to administrative functions through unspecified attack vectors. This authentication bypass enables attackers to gain elevated privileges and execute arbitrary commands on managed servers, effectively compromising the entire remote management infrastructure. The flaw demonstrates poor implementation of access control measures and inadequate session management protocols that should normally prevent unauthorized system access.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability creates significant risks for enterprise environments relying on HP iLO interfaces for server management. Attackers can leverage this weakness to perform unauthorized system modifications, extract sensitive data, install malicious software, or establish persistent backdoors within the network infrastructure. The remote nature of the attack means that threat actors can exploit this vulnerability from anywhere on the internet without requiring physical access to the target systems, making it particularly dangerous for organizations with remote management capabilities. This vulnerability directly undermines the security posture of server infrastructure and can lead to complete system compromise.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-287, which addresses improper authentication issues in software systems, and maps to multiple ATT&CK techniques including T1078 for valid accounts and T1566 for social engineering. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including firmware updates to versions 1.60 or later for iLO3 and 1.30 or later for iLO4, network segmentation to isolate management interfaces, and implementation of additional authentication controls. Regular security assessments and monitoring of management interface access logs should be conducted to detect potential exploitation attempts. The remediation process requires careful planning due to the critical nature of iLO interfaces and potential impact on system availability during update procedures.