CVE-2017-17539 in FortiWLC
Summary
by MITRE
The presence of a hardcoded account in Fortinet FortiWLC 7.0.11 and earlier allows attackers to gain unauthorized read/write access via a remote shell.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/02/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-17539 represents a critical security flaw in Fortinet FortiWLC versions 7.0.11 and earlier, where a hardcoded administrative account exists within the system configuration. This issue falls under the category of weak credential management and hardcoded secrets, which are classified as CWE-259 and CWE-798 respectively. The presence of such accounts without proper authentication mechanisms creates an inherent risk that can be exploited by malicious actors to gain unauthorized access to the wireless LAN controller system.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves a hardcoded account that is embedded within the firmware or configuration files of the FortiWLC device. This account typically contains predefined credentials that are not properly secured or managed, allowing attackers who discover these credentials to establish remote shell access to the system. The remote shell access capability enables attackers to execute arbitrary commands, modify system configurations, and potentially escalate their privileges to gain full administrative control over the wireless network infrastructure. This represents a severe privilege escalation vulnerability that can be exploited without requiring valid user credentials or authentication factors.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access, as it can compromise the entire wireless network infrastructure managed by the FortiWLC device. Attackers can leverage this access to monitor wireless traffic, inject malicious payloads into the network, modify wireless policies, and potentially use the compromised system as a pivot point for attacking other network segments. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 which covers valid accounts and T1566 which covers credential harvesting, as the hardcoded account provides a persistent method for attackers to maintain access. Organizations using affected FortiWLC versions face significant risk of network infiltration and potential data breaches.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2017-17539 require immediate action to address the hardcoded account issue. Organizations should upgrade to Fortinet FortiWLC versions that have resolved this vulnerability, as Fortinet has released patches and updates to eliminate the hardcoded credentials. Additionally, network administrators should implement network segmentation to limit the impact of potential compromise, disable unnecessary services, and monitor for unusual network activity that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of proper credential management practices and adherence to security standards such as those outlined in NIST SP 800-53 and ISO 27001, which emphasize the need for secure configuration management and regular security assessments to identify and remediate hardcoded credentials in network infrastructure devices.