CVE-2013-6922 in BlackArmor NAS 220
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerabilities in the Seagate BlackArmor NAS 220 devices with firmware sg2000-2000.1331 allow remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators for requests that (1) add user accounts via a crafted request to admin/access_control_user_add.php; (2) modify or (3) delete user accounts; (4) perform a factory reset; (5) perform a device reboot; or (6) add, (7) modify, or (8) delete shares and volumes.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/22/2024
The CVE-2013-6922 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw affecting Seagate BlackArmor NAS 220 devices running specific firmware versions. This vulnerability stems from the absence of proper authentication validation mechanisms within the web administration interface, creating a pathway for remote attackers to execute unauthorized administrative actions. The affected device operates with a web-based management console that lacks sufficient CSRF protection measures, making it susceptible to attacks that can be orchestrated entirely from external networks without requiring physical access or prior authentication credentials. The vulnerability is particularly concerning given that it targets administrative functions that directly impact device security and data integrity, as the affected web endpoints handle sensitive operations including user account management, system configuration changes, and device reboot functions.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through the manipulation of web requests that are processed by the affected device's administration interface. Attackers can craft specially formatted HTTP requests that, when executed by an authenticated administrator's browser, will perform unauthorized actions without the user's knowledge or consent. The vulnerability specifically affects multiple endpoints including admin/access_control_user_add.php for account creation, as well as functions for modifying and deleting user accounts, performing factory resets, rebooting the device, and managing shared storage resources. These operations are all executed through the device's web interface without proper CSRF tokens or referer validation, allowing malicious actors to leverage the administrator's existing session to perform actions they would not normally be authorized to execute. The flaw demonstrates a fundamental failure in the application's security architecture, where the device fails to validate the authenticity of requests originating from its own web interface.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access, as it provides attackers with complete administrative control over the affected NAS devices. Successful exploitation enables attackers to add new administrative accounts, modify existing user permissions, delete critical user accounts, perform factory resets that could result in data loss, reboot the device to disrupt operations, and manipulate shared storage resources. The implications for enterprise and home users are severe, as these devices often store sensitive personal or corporate data, and the ability to manipulate user accounts and storage configurations could lead to data theft, service disruption, or unauthorized access to connected storage resources. The vulnerability affects device availability and integrity, potentially allowing attackers to render the storage device unusable through factory reset operations or to establish persistent access through account manipulation.
Security mitigations for this vulnerability should focus on implementing proper CSRF protection mechanisms within the device's web interface. The most effective remediation involves the implementation of anti-CSRF tokens that are generated per session and validated for each administrative request, ensuring that requests originate from legitimate administrative sessions rather than being forged by external attackers. The device firmware should also implement referer header validation to confirm that requests originate from legitimate administrative interfaces rather than external domains. Network segmentation and access control measures can provide additional defense-in-depth, limiting access to the device's administrative interface to trusted networks and implementing strong authentication mechanisms. Organizations should also implement regular firmware updates and monitoring for unauthorized administrative activities, as well as establishing network access controls that restrict direct access to administrative interfaces from untrusted networks. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery weaknesses, and represents a clear violation of the principle of least privilege and proper session management that should be implemented in all web-based administrative interfaces. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under privilege escalation and persistence techniques, as it allows attackers to gain administrative privileges and establish long-term access to network storage resources.