CVE-2014-4155 in ZXV10 W300
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the ZTE ZXV10 W300 router with firmware W300V1.0.0a_ZRD_LK allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators for requests that change the admin password via a request to Forms/tools_admin_1.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/16/2024
The CVE-2014-4155 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw in ZTE ZXV10 W300 routers running firmware version W300V1.0.0a_ZRD_LK. This vulnerability operates at the application layer and specifically targets the router's administrative interface, creating a significant security risk for network administrators who rely on these devices for network management. The flaw stems from the absence of proper anti-CSRF protection mechanisms within the router's web-based administration portal, making it susceptible to exploitation by malicious actors who can manipulate authenticated sessions without proper authorization.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the router's failure to validate the origin of requests made to the administrative interface. When an administrator accesses the router's web management console, the system should verify that requests originate from legitimate sources and contain valid anti-CSRF tokens. However, the ZTE W300 router lacks this crucial validation mechanism, allowing remote attackers to craft malicious requests that can be executed in the context of an authenticated administrator session. The specific endpoint affected is Forms/tools_admin_1 which handles administrative password changes, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous as it directly impacts the router's authentication system and can lead to complete administrative control of the device.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as it enables attackers to assume full administrative control over the affected router. Once exploited, an attacker can change the administrator password, potentially locking out legitimate users while gaining complete access to router configuration parameters, network settings, and potentially the entire network infrastructure managed by the device. This vulnerability particularly affects small to medium enterprise networks that rely on consumer-grade routers for network management, as these devices often lack the security rigor found in enterprise-grade equipment. The remote nature of the attack means that no physical access to the device is required, making it an attractive target for cybercriminals seeking to compromise network infrastructure.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should prioritize immediate firmware updates from ZTE, as the company would have likely released patches addressing this specific CSRF implementation flaw. Network administrators should implement additional security measures such as restricting administrative access to specific IP ranges, implementing network segmentation, and monitoring for unusual administrative activity patterns. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which categorizes cross-site request forgery vulnerabilities, and represents a clear violation of the principle of least privilege as defined in cybersecurity best practices. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls to detect and block suspicious requests targeting administrative interfaces, and establish regular vulnerability assessment procedures to identify similar issues in other network equipment. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this type of vulnerability under privilege escalation and credential access techniques, highlighting the need for comprehensive network security monitoring and incident response capabilities to detect and respond to such exploitation attempts effectively.