CVE-2017-6896 in DG-HR1400
Summary
by MITRE
Privilege escalation vulnerability on the DIGISOL DG-HR1400 1.00.02 wireless router enables an attacker to escalate from user privilege to admin privilege just by modifying the Base64-encoded session cookie value.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/02/2024
The CVE-2017-6896 vulnerability represents a critical privilege escalation flaw in the DIGISOL DG-HR1400 wireless router firmware version 1.00.02. This vulnerability exposes a fundamental weakness in the router's session management implementation, where the system fails to properly validate session tokens, allowing unauthorized users to gain administrative privileges through simple manipulation of session cookies. The vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and insufficient session token integrity checks within the authentication mechanism, creating a direct path for privilege elevation attacks.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability lies in the router's handling of Base64-encoded session cookies, which are used to maintain user sessions and track authentication status. When an unauthenticated user accesses the router's web interface, the system generates a session cookie containing encoded session information. However, the router's authentication logic does not adequately verify the integrity of this cookie value, nor does it properly validate the privileges associated with the session token. Attackers can simply modify the Base64-encoded cookie value to escalate their privileges from standard user level to administrative level, bypassing all normal authentication and authorization controls.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability creates severe security implications for organizations and individuals using the affected DIGISOL routers. The ease of exploitation means that any attacker with network access can potentially gain full administrative control over the router, enabling them to modify network configurations, implement malicious settings, monitor network traffic, and establish backdoors for persistent access. The vulnerability affects the router's core security model, undermining the fundamental principle of least privilege and allowing unauthorized access to sensitive network management functions. This flaw particularly impacts enterprise networks where such routers may be deployed without proper security monitoring or network segmentation, potentially providing attackers with a foothold for broader network infiltration.
The vulnerability maps directly to CWE-287, which addresses improper authentication issues, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 for valid accounts and T1566 for phishing, as the exploitation requires no complex attack vectors beyond session cookie manipulation. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including firmware updates from DIGISOL, network segmentation to isolate affected devices, and monitoring for suspicious authentication patterns. Additionally, network administrators should consider disabling unnecessary web management interfaces and implementing proper access controls to limit exposure. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of robust session management and proper privilege validation in network infrastructure devices, as even minor implementation flaws can result in complete system compromise.