CVE-2017-8006 in RSA Authentication Manager
Summary
by MITRE
In EMC RSA Authentication Manager 8.2 SP1 Patch 1 and earlier, a malicious user logged into the Self-Service Console of RSA Authentication Manager as a target user can use a brute force attack to attempt to identify that user's PIN. The malicious user could potentially reset the compromised PIN to affect victim's ability to obtain access to protected resources.
Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/01/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-8006 represents a significant security flaw within EMC RSA Authentication Manager version 8.2 SP1 Patch 1 and earlier deployments. This weakness resides in the self-service console functionality that allows authenticated users to perform various account management operations. The vulnerability specifically targets the PIN verification mechanism that protects user access to authentication tokens and protected resources within the RSA ecosystem. The flaw enables a malicious actor who has already gained access to a target user's session to exploit a brute force attack vector against the PIN validation process.
This vulnerability falls under the category of weak authentication mechanisms and insufficient account lockout policies as classified by CWE-305. The technical implementation flaw occurs within the session management and authentication validation components of the RSA Authentication Manager system. When a malicious user accesses the self-service console, they can repeatedly attempt different PIN combinations without adequate rate limiting or account lockout measures. The system fails to implement proper throttling mechanisms that would prevent automated brute force attacks from exhausting the PIN space within reasonable timeframes.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple account compromise, as it fundamentally undermines the security model of the RSA Authentication Manager platform. An attacker who successfully identifies a victim's PIN can reset it to a value they control, effectively locking out the legitimate user from accessing protected resources. This creates a scenario where the victim's authentication credentials become compromised without their knowledge, potentially affecting access to critical enterprise systems, applications, and data repositories. The vulnerability particularly affects organizations that rely heavily on RSA Authentication Manager for multi-factor authentication and privileged access management.
From an adversarial perspective, this vulnerability aligns with techniques documented in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the credential access and privilege escalation domains. The attack chain typically begins with initial access through legitimate user credentials, followed by exploitation of the self-service functionality to conduct brute force attacks against PINs. Organizations implementing RSA Authentication Manager should consider this vulnerability in their threat modeling exercises and incident response planning. The recommended mitigations include implementing robust rate limiting mechanisms, enforcing account lockout policies after failed authentication attempts, and deploying additional monitoring controls to detect suspicious authentication patterns. Additionally, organizations should ensure that all RSA Authentication Manager deployments are updated to the latest patch levels and consider implementing additional security controls such as adaptive authentication and behavioral analytics to detect anomalous access patterns.