CVE-2017-9863 in Solar System
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in SMA Solar Technology products. If a user simultaneously has Sunny Explorer running and visits a malicious host, cross-site request forgery can be used to change settings in the inverters (for example, issuing a POST request to change the user password). All Sunny Explorer settings available to the authenticated user are also available to the attacker. (In some cases, this also includes changing settings that the user has no access to.) This may result in complete compromise of the device.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/05/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-9863 represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw affecting SMA Solar Technology products, specifically within their Sunny Explorer software ecosystem. This security weakness arises from insufficient validation of cross-origin requests, allowing malicious actors to exploit the trust relationship between authenticated users and the web interface. The vulnerability manifests when users operate the Sunny Explorer application while simultaneously browsing to compromised websites, creating an attack vector that leverages the user's existing authentication session to execute unauthorized operations against the solar inverter systems. The flaw exists at the application layer where proper origin validation mechanisms are absent or improperly implemented, enabling attackers to craft malicious requests that appear legitimate to the target system.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through carefully crafted cross-site request forgery attacks that can manipulate the inverter's configuration settings through HTTP POST requests. Attackers can leverage this weakness to modify critical system parameters including user credentials, network configurations, and operational settings that control the inverter's behavior. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple credential changes to encompass all administrative functions accessible through the Sunny Explorer interface, potentially allowing attackers to modify settings that users normally cannot access directly. This includes configuration changes that could disable security features, alter communication protocols, or modify operational parameters that could lead to system instability or complete device compromise. The flaw demonstrates a classic lack of proper request validation and session management that violates fundamental web security principles.
The operational impact of CVE-2017-9863 is severe and potentially catastrophic for solar energy installations, as it allows attackers to gain complete control over inverter systems without requiring additional authentication credentials. Once exploited, the vulnerability enables attackers to modify critical operational parameters that could result in power generation disruptions, security breaches, or even physical damage to the solar installation. The attack requires minimal sophistication and can be executed through standard web-based attack vectors, making it particularly dangerous in environments where solar inverters are connected to critical infrastructure or grid systems. The vulnerability's persistence is concerning as it remains active as long as the affected software is running, and the attack can be executed repeatedly without detection. This represents a significant risk to industrial control systems and IoT devices that lack proper security controls.
Security mitigations for this vulnerability should focus on implementing robust cross-site request forgery protection mechanisms including the use of anti-forgery tokens, proper origin validation, and implementing Content Security Policy headers. Organizations should ensure that all web applications interacting with critical systems include proper request validation controls and that authentication sessions are properly managed to prevent unauthorized operations. Network segmentation and access controls should be implemented to limit exposure of these systems to potentially malicious web content. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses, and represents a violation of the principle of least privilege in system design. Additionally, this flaw maps to ATT&CK technique T1078 which covers valid accounts and T1566 which covers spearphishing with malicious attachments, demonstrating how this vulnerability can serve as an initial access point for broader system compromise. Regular security updates and patch management processes should be implemented to address such vulnerabilities in industrial control systems, as the attack surface for critical infrastructure remains increasingly targeted by sophisticated threat actors.