CVE-2016-8358 in CADD-Solis Medication Safety Software
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in Smiths-Medical CADD-Solis Medication Safety Software, Version 1.0; 2.0; 3.0; and 3.1. The affected software does not verify the identities at communication endpoints, which may allow a man-in-the-middle attacker to gain access to the communication channel between endpoints.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/14/2017
The vulnerability identified in CVE-2016-8358 affects Smiths-Medical CADD-Solis Medication Safety Software across multiple versions including 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and 3.1. This represents a critical security flaw that undermines the fundamental integrity of communication channels within medical device networks. The affected software operates in healthcare environments where medication safety is paramount, making this vulnerability particularly concerning as it could potentially compromise patient care and safety protocols. The issue stems from inadequate authentication mechanisms that fail to validate the identities of communicating endpoints, creating an exploitable gap in the security architecture of these critical medical systems.
The technical flaw manifests as a complete absence of endpoint authentication verification within the communication protocol implementation. This deficiency allows attackers to position themselves between legitimate communicating parties and intercept or manipulate data flows without detection. The vulnerability directly maps to CWE-310, which specifically addresses cryptographic failures including the absence of proper authentication mechanisms. Without proper identity verification, the system cannot distinguish between authorized and unauthorized entities attempting to establish communication, creating an open door for malicious actors to establish unauthorized connections. The attack vector follows standard man-in-the-middle exploitation patterns where an adversary can eavesdrop on communications, inject malicious data, or even redirect traffic to compromise system integrity.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends far beyond simple data interception, as it fundamentally undermines the trust model of the medication safety system. In healthcare environments, this could result in unauthorized access to critical medication administration data, potentially leading to incorrect dosing information, altered patient records, or compromised medication delivery protocols. The consequences could include medication errors, patient harm, regulatory violations, and significant reputational damage to healthcare institutions. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability enables techniques such as T1071.004 for application layer protocol tunneling and T1566 for credential access through network infiltration. The attack surface is particularly dangerous in hospital networks where multiple medical devices and systems interconnect, potentially allowing lateral movement and escalation of privileges.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability must address both immediate remediation and long-term architectural improvements. Organizations should implement proper certificate-based authentication mechanisms and ensure all communication channels utilize encrypted protocols such as TLS with strong cipher suites. The solution requires deployment of mutual authentication between endpoints, where both parties verify each other's identities before establishing communication. Network segmentation and monitoring should be enhanced to detect anomalous communication patterns that might indicate man-in-the-middle attacks. System administrators must also implement regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning to identify similar authentication gaps in other medical devices and software systems. The remediation process should include updating to patched versions of the CADD-Solis software when available, implementing network access controls, and establishing comprehensive audit trails for all communication activities within the medication safety environment.