CVE-2018-11718 in PC2
Summary
by MITRE
Xovis PC2, PC2R, and PC3 devices through 3.6.0 allow CSRF.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/19/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-11718 affects Xovis security devices including PC2, PC2R, and PC3 models running firmware versions up to 3.6.0. These devices are network-based security appliances commonly deployed for video surveillance and access control purposes in enterprise environments. The vulnerability stems from insufficient protection mechanisms against Cross-Site Request Forgery attacks, which represents a significant security weakness in networked security infrastructure. This flaw allows unauthorized attackers to perform administrative actions on affected devices without proper authentication, potentially compromising the entire security ecosystem.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability occurs due to the absence of proper anti-CSRF tokens or validation mechanisms in the web-based administrative interfaces of these devices. When legitimate users interact with the device's web management interface, the system fails to verify that requests originate from authenticated administrative sessions. An attacker can craft malicious web pages or send specially crafted requests that, when executed by an authenticated user, perform unauthorized administrative operations such as changing network configurations, modifying user accounts, or altering security settings. This vulnerability specifically affects the device's HTTP-based management interface and operates at the application layer where user authentication and authorization should be strictly enforced. The flaw enables attackers to exploit the trust relationship between the device and authenticated users, making it particularly dangerous in environments where administrative access is frequently used.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access to potentially catastrophic consequences for security infrastructure. Attackers exploiting this vulnerability could gain complete administrative control over the affected security devices, allowing them to disable security features, modify surveillance parameters, or redirect network traffic. This capability could enable attackers to establish persistent access points within network environments, create backdoors, or facilitate further attacks against other connected systems. The vulnerability affects devices that are typically deployed in critical security infrastructure environments, making the potential damage significant. Organizations using these devices may experience complete compromise of their video surveillance systems, unauthorized access to sensitive areas, and potential data exfiltration through modified network configurations. The attack vector requires user interaction but can be executed through social engineering techniques, making it particularly challenging to defend against in enterprise environments.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on immediate firmware upgrades to versions that address the CSRF implementation flaws. Organizations should also implement network segmentation to limit access to administrative interfaces and deploy additional authentication mechanisms such as two-factor authentication for administrative access. Network monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual administrative activities that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in web applications. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving privilege escalation and persistence, as attackers can establish long-term access through administrative control. Security teams should also consider implementing web application firewalls to protect against exploitation attempts and ensure that administrative interfaces are not directly exposed to untrusted networks. Regular security assessments should include verification of CSRF protections in all networked devices to prevent similar vulnerabilities from being overlooked in other systems.