CVE-2013-6838 in IVR Pro
Summary
by MITRE
An unspecified Enghouse Interactive Professional Services "addon product" in Enghouse Interactive IVR Pro (VIP2000) 9.0.3 (rel903), when using OpenVZ and fallback customization, uses the same SSH private key across different customers installations, which allows remote attackers to gain privileges by leveraging knowledge of this key.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/01/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2013-6838 represents a critical security flaw in Enghouse Interactive IVR Pro (VIP2000) version 9.0.3, specifically within an addon product that interfaces with OpenVZ virtualization environments. This issue manifests when the system employs fallback customization mechanisms, creating a scenario where multiple customer installations share identical SSH private keys. The flaw stems from poor key management practices and inadequate isolation between virtualized customer environments, fundamentally undermining the security posture of the platform. Such a configuration violates fundamental security principles of separation of duties and proper credential isolation that are essential in multi-tenant systems.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through the predictable reuse of SSH private keys across different customer installations, creating a privilege escalation vector for remote attackers. When an attacker gains knowledge of this shared private key, they can authenticate to multiple customer systems without requiring additional credentials or attack vectors. This represents a classic case of weak cryptographic key distribution and management, where the same private key serves multiple purposes across different security domains. The vulnerability essentially eliminates the security boundary between customer environments, allowing unauthorized access to potentially sensitive data and system resources within each compromised installation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access, as it enables attackers to establish persistent access points within multiple customer environments simultaneously. This creates a significant risk of data exfiltration, system compromise, and potential lateral movement across the affected infrastructure. The vulnerability affects the core security architecture of the virtualized environment, particularly when fallback customization is employed, which typically occurs when standard configuration procedures fail or when system administrators implement default settings. This flaw demonstrates a critical failure in implementing proper security controls for multi-tenant virtualized environments and highlights the importance of unique key generation for each customer installation.
Security mitigations for this vulnerability require immediate implementation of unique SSH key pairs for each customer installation, proper key management procedures, and enforcement of isolation policies within the OpenVZ virtualization environment. Organizations should implement automated key generation processes that ensure each customer receives a unique private key, while also establishing robust key rotation procedures. The system should be configured to prevent fallback customization from utilizing shared credentials, and administrators must be trained on proper key management practices. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-310 (Cryptographic Issues) and represents a specific instance of improper key management that could be addressed through adherence to NIST SP 800-57 guidelines for key management and the ATT&CK technique T1566 (Phishing) when attackers leverage compromised credentials for initial access. Additionally, the vulnerability highlights the importance of implementing proper virtualization security controls and adheres to the principle of least privilege as outlined in the CIA triad framework.