CVE-2017-10622 in Management Platform
Summary
by MITRE
An authentication bypass vulnerability in Juniper Networks Junos Space Network Management Platform may allow a remote unauthenticated network based attacker to login as any privileged user. This issue only affects Junos Space Network Management Platform 17.1R1 without Patch v1 and 16.1 releases prior to 16.1R3. This issue was found by an external security researcher.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/03/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-10622 represents a critical authentication bypass flaw within the Juniper Networks Junos Space Network Management Platform, a widely deployed network management solution used by enterprises and service providers for orchestrating and managing network infrastructure. This vulnerability creates a significant security risk by allowing remote attackers to assume the identity of any privileged user without requiring valid credentials, effectively undermining the fundamental security controls that protect network management systems. The flaw specifically impacts organizations using Junos Space versions 17.1R1 without the v1 patch and 16.1 releases prior to 16.1R3, making it a targeted issue affecting a specific set of platform versions that were commonly deployed in enterprise environments. The vulnerability was discovered through external security research, highlighting the importance of third-party security assessments in identifying critical flaws within network infrastructure platforms.
The technical nature of this authentication bypass stems from improper validation of authentication tokens or session management mechanisms within the Junos Space platform, allowing attackers to manipulate the authentication process and gain elevated privileges. This type of vulnerability typically falls under CWE-287 which addresses improper authentication issues, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 for Valid Accounts and T1566 for Phishing, as the attacker can effectively impersonate legitimate administrative users. The flaw enables an attacker to bypass the standard authentication procedures that should verify user credentials before granting access to privileged functions, creating a backdoor that can be exploited from any network location without requiring prior access to the system. This issue particularly affects the platform's ability to maintain proper access controls, as the authentication mechanism fails to properly validate user identity before granting administrative privileges.
The operational impact of CVE-2017-10622 extends far beyond simple unauthorized access, as it provides attackers with the ability to perform administrative functions across the managed network infrastructure. Once an attacker successfully exploits this vulnerability, they can execute commands, modify configurations, view sensitive data, and potentially disrupt network operations, all while appearing to be a legitimate privileged user. This capability significantly increases the potential damage from a security breach, as attackers can remain undetected while performing malicious activities that would normally require extensive reconnaissance and exploitation efforts. Organizations using affected Junos Space versions face risks including data exfiltration, network disruption, unauthorized configuration changes, and potential lateral movement within their network infrastructure, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous for network administrators who rely on the platform for critical network management functions.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately implement mitigations including applying the appropriate security patches released by Juniper Networks, which specifically address the authentication bypass issue in the affected platform versions. Network segmentation and access control measures should be strengthened to limit the potential impact of exploitation, while monitoring systems should be enhanced to detect suspicious authentication patterns or unauthorized administrative activities. Security teams should conduct thorough vulnerability assessments to identify all instances of the affected Junos Space versions and implement additional controls such as network access controls, multi-factor authentication for administrative access, and enhanced logging of authentication events. The incident also underscores the importance of maintaining current security patches and implementing robust security monitoring practices to detect and respond to similar vulnerabilities in network management platforms, as the ATT&CK framework emphasizes the need for defensive measures against credential theft and privilege escalation techniques that leverage authentication bypass vulnerabilities.