CVE-2017-6042 in AirLink Raven XE
Summary
by MITRE
A Cross-Site Request Forgery issue was discovered in Sierra Wireless AirLink Raven XE, all versions prior to 4.0.14, and AirLink Raven XT, all versions prior to 4.0.11. Affected devices do not verify if a request was intentionally sent by the logged-in user, which may allow an attacker to trick a client into making an unintentional request to the web server that will be treated as an authentic request.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/21/2019
This cross-site request forgery vulnerability affects Sierra Wireless AirLink Raven XE and AirLink Raven XT devices running firmware versions prior to 4014 and 4011 respectively. The flaw represents a critical security weakness in the web-based administration interfaces of these industrial networking devices that are commonly deployed in remote and critical infrastructure environments. The vulnerability stems from the absence of proper request verification mechanisms that would normally validate whether a web request originates from an authenticated user session or from a malicious third party attempting to exploit the device's administrative functions.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability demonstrates a failure in the web application's anti-forgery token validation process and session management controls. When a user authenticates to the device's web interface, the system should maintain strict session validation and verify that subsequent requests are legitimate continuations of that authenticated session. However, the affected devices lack proper CSRF protection mechanisms, allowing attackers to craft malicious requests that appear to originate from authenticated users. This weakness enables attackers to perform unauthorized administrative actions such as changing network configurations, modifying user accounts, or accessing sensitive device information without proper authentication.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond typical web application attacks given the industrial nature of these devices. AirLink Raven XE and XT units are commonly deployed in critical infrastructure environments including telecommunications networks, industrial control systems, and remote monitoring applications where unauthorized access could lead to significant operational disruptions, data breaches, or even physical security compromises. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to gain persistent access to network infrastructure, potentially leading to network outages, data exfiltration, or the ability to manipulate critical communications channels. The vulnerability is particularly concerning in environments where these devices are deployed without additional network segmentation or security controls.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in web applications, and represents a failure to implement proper anti-forgery token mechanisms. From an attack perspective, this vulnerability maps to ATT&CK technique T1071.004 for Application Layer Protocol: DNS and T1566 for Phishing, as attackers would typically need to deliver malicious payloads to victims through social engineering or compromised networks. The exploitation requires minimal technical expertise and can be automated using standard web attack frameworks, making it particularly dangerous in environments where network security monitoring is insufficient. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including firmware updates to versions 4.0.14 and 4.0.11 respectively, network segmentation of these devices, and deployment of web application firewalls to prevent exploitation attempts. Additionally, regular security assessments should verify that administrative interfaces are properly protected against CSRF attacks and that all industrial networking equipment maintains current security patches.