CVE-2018-14892 in NSA325 V2
Summary
by MITRE
Missing protections against Cross-Site Request Forgery in the web application in ZyXEL NSA325 V2 version 4.81 allow attackers to perform state-changing actions via crafted HTTP forms.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/15/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-14892 represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw in the web administration interface of ZyXEL NSA325 V2 network security appliances running firmware version 4.81. This weakness stems from the absence of proper CSRF protection mechanisms within the device's web application framework, creating a significant security gap that adversaries can exploit to manipulate the device's operational state without user consent. The vulnerability specifically affects the authentication and authorization controls that should normally validate the origin and intent of HTTP requests submitted through the web interface.
The technical implementation of this flaw occurs at the application layer where the web server fails to enforce anti-CSRF tokens or other protective measures when processing state-changing HTTP requests. Attackers can construct malicious web pages or embed crafted HTTP forms that, when visited by an authenticated user, automatically submit requests to the vulnerable NSA325 device. These requests appear legitimate to the device because they contain valid authentication cookies or session tokens, but they execute unintended operations such as changing administrative passwords, modifying network configurations, or altering security settings. The absence of CSRF protection mechanisms means that the web application cannot distinguish between authorized user-initiated requests and maliciously crafted requests submitted through third-party websites.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access to encompass potential complete device compromise and network disruption. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability could gain administrative control over the NSA325 appliance, potentially allowing them to redirect network traffic, disable security features, or establish persistent access points within the network infrastructure. This represents a severe risk for organizations relying on these devices for network security, as the compromised appliance could serve as a foothold for broader network infiltration. The vulnerability affects the device's ability to maintain its intended security posture and could lead to data breaches or denial of service conditions.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including firmware updates from ZyXEL to address the identified CSRF vulnerability, network segmentation to isolate affected devices, and monitoring for suspicious administrative activities. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in web applications, and corresponds to ATT&CK technique T1078.004 for Valid Accounts and T1566.001 for Phishing with Malicious Attachments as potential attack vectors. Security teams should also consider implementing web application firewalls and additional authentication controls to provide defense-in-depth against similar vulnerabilities. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify other potential CSRF weaknesses in network infrastructure devices and ensure that proper input validation and request origin verification mechanisms are consistently implemented across all web-based management interfaces.