CVE-2018-0446 in Industrial Network Director
Summary
by MITRE
A vulnerability in the web-based management interface of Cisco Industrial Network Director could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to conduct a cross-site request forgery (CSRF) attack and perform arbitrary actions on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to insufficient CSRF protections for the web-based management interface. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by persuading a user of the interface to follow a malicious, customized link. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to perform arbitrary actions on the affected device via a web browser and with the privileges of the user.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/30/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-0446 resides within Cisco Industrial Network Director's web-based management interface, representing a critical security flaw that undermines the integrity of the system's authentication and authorization mechanisms. This vulnerability classifies under CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in web applications. The flaw manifests as inadequate protection measures against CSRF attacks, where an attacker can manipulate a victim's browser to execute unauthorized actions without their knowledge or consent. The vulnerability affects Cisco Industrial Network Director versions prior to 2.2.1, making it particularly concerning for industrial environments where network management systems are critical infrastructure components.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the absence of proper anti-CSRF tokens or validation mechanisms within the web interface's request processing pipeline. When a user accesses the management interface, the system should validate that requests originate from legitimate user interactions rather than forged requests embedded in malicious links or web pages. Without these protective measures, an attacker can craft specially crafted web requests that, when triggered by an authenticated user, execute administrative functions with the user's privileges. This exploitation technique relies on social engineering tactics where users are tricked into clicking malicious links, often embedded in phishing emails or compromised websites, that automatically submit requests to the vulnerable interface.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as it enables attackers to perform arbitrary administrative actions on affected devices. This capability allows for comprehensive system compromise including configuration changes, user account manipulation, device reconfiguration, and potentially unauthorized access to industrial network segments. The remote nature of the attack means that adversaries do not require physical access or network proximity to exploit the vulnerability, making it particularly dangerous for industrial control systems where physical security measures may be less stringent than network security measures. The unauthenticated nature of the attack means that no prior credentials are required to initiate the exploitation process, significantly reducing the attack surface and increasing the likelihood of successful compromise.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying the vendor-provided security patches and updates, which address the CSRF protection deficiencies in the web interface. Network segmentation and access control measures should be strengthened to limit exposure of the management interface to trusted networks only. Additional protective measures include implementing web application firewalls that can detect and block CSRF attempts, enabling multi-factor authentication for management access, and conducting regular security assessments of web-based management interfaces. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under T1212, which addresses Exploitation for Credential Access, and T1071.001, which covers Application Layer Protocol: Web Protocols, emphasizing the need for comprehensive defensive strategies that address both network-level and application-level security controls.