CVE-2015-0922 in ePolicy Orchestrator
Summary
by MITRE
McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator (ePO) before 4.6.9 and 5.x before 5.1.2 uses the same secret key across different customers installations, which allows attackers to obtain the administrator password by leveraging knowledge of the encrypted password.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/02/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-0922 represents a critical cryptographic weakness in McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator versions prior to 4.6.9 and 5.x versions before 5.1.2. This flaw stems from the improper implementation of cryptographic key management within the software architecture, where the same secret key is deployed across multiple customer installations. The vulnerability exposes a fundamental flaw in the security design pattern that should have implemented unique cryptographic keys per installation or customer environment. This cryptographic misconfiguration creates a scenario where attackers can exploit the shared secret key to decrypt administrator passwords, effectively compromising the authentication mechanism of the system.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the use of symmetric encryption algorithms with a hardcoded or shared secret key across different customer deployments. When ePO encrypts administrator passwords for storage or transmission, it utilizes this predetermined key that remains consistent across installations. This approach violates the principle of unique key generation for each environment, which is a fundamental requirement in cryptographic security practices. The flaw directly relates to CWE-327, which addresses the use of weak cryptographic algorithms and improper key management, and also connects to CWE-310, which covers cryptographic key management failures. Attackers who gain access to this shared key can decrypt any password that was encrypted using the same algorithm and key, effectively allowing them to impersonate administrators and gain full control over the managed systems.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends far beyond simple credential theft, as it provides attackers with administrative access to critical security infrastructure managed by ePO. This access enables adversaries to manipulate security policies, disable protective measures, modify system configurations, and potentially escalate privileges to gain broader network access. The vulnerability affects organizations that rely on McAfee ePO for centralized security management, potentially allowing attackers to compromise multiple systems simultaneously. From an attack perspective, this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1552.001, which covers the use of credentials from password managers, and T1078.004, which involves legitimate account use through abuse of remote services. The shared key scenario creates a single point of failure that undermines the security posture of all affected organizations, as compromising one installation's key immediately compromises all others using the same key.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigation strategies including upgrading to patched versions of McAfee ePO that address the cryptographic key management issue. The remediation process requires careful planning to ensure that new unique keys are properly generated and distributed across all installations without disrupting existing operations. Security teams should conduct comprehensive audits of their cryptographic implementations to identify any other systems using shared keys or weak key management practices. Additional protective measures include implementing network segmentation to limit access to ePO systems, enabling multi-factor authentication for administrative access, and conducting regular security assessments to identify similar cryptographic vulnerabilities in other systems. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper key lifecycle management and the dangers of hardcoding cryptographic keys in production environments, serving as a reminder that even minor implementation flaws can result in catastrophic security consequences.