CVE-2017-11634 in Wireless IP Camera 360
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered on Wireless IP Camera 360 devices. Remote attackers can discover a weakly encoded admin password by connecting to TCP port 9527 and reading the password field of the debugging information, e.g., nTBCS19C corresponds to a password of 123456.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/08/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-11634 represents a critical security flaw in Wireless IP Camera 360 devices that exposes administrative credentials through insecure debugging interfaces. This weakness allows remote attackers to obtain administrative passwords without requiring authentication, creating a significant risk for networked surveillance systems. The vulnerability specifically affects devices that expose debugging information through TCP port 9527, making it accessible over the network without proper access controls or encryption mechanisms.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from improper handling of debugging information within the device firmware. When attackers connect to port 9527, they can retrieve encoded administrative credentials that are stored in a weakly encoded format. The example provided demonstrates that the encoded string nTBCS19C directly corresponds to the plaintext password 123456, indicating a simple substitution cipher or basic encoding mechanism rather than proper cryptographic protection. This type of weak encoding violates fundamental security principles and represents a clear violation of the principle of least privilege, as administrative credentials are exposed to any network entity with access to the specified port.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple credential exposure, as it provides attackers with full administrative control over affected surveillance devices. Once an attacker obtains the administrative password, they can modify camera settings, access live video feeds, alter recording configurations, disable security features, and potentially use the device as a pivot point for further attacks within the network. This vulnerability particularly affects industrial and commercial surveillance deployments where IP cameras are used for security monitoring, potentially allowing unauthorized access to sensitive areas and compromising the integrity of security systems. The low complexity of exploitation means that even non-technical attackers can leverage this vulnerability effectively.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-312 (Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information) and CWE-259 (Use of Hard-coded Credentials) as it demonstrates both the storage of sensitive information in an easily reversible format and the presence of hardcoded credentials that can be discovered through network reconnaissance. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1071.004 (Application Layer Protocol: DNS) and T1046 (Network Service Scanning) as attackers would need to identify the target service and port, followed by T1078 (Valid Accounts) and T1087 (Account Discovery) to leverage the discovered credentials. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including network segmentation to isolate affected devices, disabling unnecessary services, and implementing proper access controls on TCP port 9527. Additionally, firmware updates should be applied immediately, and any discovered credentials should be rotated to prevent further exploitation. The incident highlights the importance of secure coding practices and the necessity of removing debugging interfaces from production devices to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive system information.