CVE-2015-4057 in Vision Intelligent Operations
Summary
by MITRE
The "Plug-in for VMware vCenter" in VCE Vision Intelligent Operations before 2.6.5 sends a cleartext HTTP response upon a request for the Settings screen, which allows remote attackers to discover the admin user password by sniffing the network.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/02/2020
The vulnerability described in CVE-2015-4057 represents a critical security flaw in the VCE Vision Intelligent Operations platform's VMware vCenter plugin implementation. This issue affects versions prior to 2.6.5 and demonstrates a fundamental failure in secure communication practices within enterprise virtualization management tools. The vulnerability specifically manifests when users request the Settings screen, triggering an insecure HTTP response that exposes administrative credentials in plain text format. This weakness creates an immediate and significant risk for organizations relying on the platform for their virtual infrastructure management, as it directly undermines the confidentiality of sensitive authentication information.
The technical implementation flaw stems from the plugin's improper handling of HTTP communication protocols during administrative interface interactions. When the Settings screen is accessed, the system fails to encrypt or obfuscate the response containing administrative credentials, instead transmitting this sensitive information in cleartext over the network. This design decision violates established security principles and creates a man-in-the-middle attack vector that allows remote adversaries to capture network traffic and extract administrative passwords through simple packet sniffing techniques. The vulnerability operates at the application layer of the OSI model, specifically within the HTTP protocol implementation where authentication credentials should be protected through encryption or secure transmission mechanisms.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple credential exposure, creating cascading security risks throughout enterprise environments. Once an attacker obtains administrative credentials through network sniffing, they gain full control over the vCenter management interface and can manipulate virtual machine configurations, access sensitive data, modify user permissions, and potentially escalate privileges to compromise the entire virtualized infrastructure. This vulnerability directly aligns with CWE-312, which addresses the exposure of sensitive information through cleartext transmission, and represents a significant deviation from secure coding practices recommended by industry standards. The attack surface is particularly concerning given that vCenter administrators typically possess elevated privileges and access to critical enterprise resources.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately implement network segmentation measures to isolate management interfaces from untrusted networks, deploy network intrusion detection systems to monitor for suspicious traffic patterns, and enforce mandatory encryption protocols for all management communications. The recommended remediation involves upgrading to VCE Vision Intelligent Operations version 2.6.5 or later, which addresses the cleartext transmission issue through proper HTTPS implementation and secure credential handling. Additional mitigations include implementing network monitoring solutions to detect and alert on cleartext credential transmission attempts, conducting regular security assessments of management interfaces, and establishing strict access control policies that limit administrative access to trusted network segments. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to technique T1075 (Pass the Hash) and T1566 (Phishing) as attackers can leverage the exposed credentials for lateral movement and persistent access within the network infrastructure.