CVE-2018-16200 in Home Gateway HEM-GW16A
Summary
by MITRE
Toshiba Home gateway HEM-GW16A 1.2.9 and earlier, Toshiba Home gateway HEM-GW26A 1.2.9 and earlier allows an attacker on the same network segment to execute arbitrary OS commands.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/27/2020
This vulnerability exists in Toshiba Home gateway devices including models HEM-GW16A and HEM-GW26A running firmware versions 1.2.9 and earlier. The flaw represents a critical command injection vulnerability that allows unauthorized attackers within the same network segment to execute arbitrary operating system commands on the affected devices. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and improper sanitization of user-supplied data within the device's web interface or network services. Attackers can exploit this weakness by sending maliciously crafted requests that are then processed by the device's underlying operating system without proper security checks. This type of vulnerability falls under CWE-77 which specifically addresses command injection flaws where untrusted data is directly incorporated into command execution contexts.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe as it provides attackers with full control over the affected gateway devices. Once exploited, adversaries can gain persistent access to the network infrastructure, potentially enabling them to monitor traffic, redirect connections, or use the compromised device as a pivot point for further attacks against other systems within the local network. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it requires no authentication from the attacker, making it accessible to anyone with network access to the same broadcast domain. This aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.001 for command and scripting interpreter, where adversaries execute commands on compromised systems.
The root cause of this vulnerability lies in the device's failure to properly validate and sanitize inputs received through network interfaces or web forms. When user-provided data is directly passed to system commands without adequate filtering or encoding, it creates an opportunity for attackers to inject malicious commands that get executed with the privileges of the affected service. This represents a classic security misconfiguration that violates fundamental principles of secure coding practices. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including firmware updates from Toshiba, network segmentation to isolate critical devices, and monitoring for suspicious network activity. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of input validation and the principle of least privilege in network security implementations.