CVE-2018-16670 in CirCarLife
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in CIRCONTROL CirCarLife before 4.3. There is PLC status disclosure due to lack of authentication for /html/devstat.html.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/25/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-16670 represents a critical security flaw in CIRCONTROL CirCarLife software versions prior to 4.3, specifically affecting industrial control systems that utilize programmable logic controllers. This issue manifests as a lack of proper authentication mechanisms for the /html/devstat.html endpoint, which exposes sensitive PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) status information to unauthorized users. The vulnerability falls under the category of insufficient authentication, a weakness that directly violates fundamental security principles and creates significant operational risks for industrial environments.
The technical implementation of this flaw involves the absence of authentication checks for the device status page, allowing any remote attacker to access critical information about the PLC's operational state without requiring valid credentials. This disclosure includes potentially sensitive data such as device configuration details, operational parameters, and system status indicators that could be leveraged by threat actors to understand the target environment's architecture and identify potential attack vectors. The vulnerability is classified as CWE-287, which specifically addresses improper authentication issues, and represents a direct violation of the principle of least privilege in cybersecurity frameworks.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability creates substantial risks for industrial control systems that rely on CIRCONTROL CirCarLife for process automation and monitoring. The exposure of PLC status information provides attackers with valuable reconnaissance data that could be used to plan more sophisticated attacks targeting the industrial control infrastructure. The impact extends beyond simple information disclosure, as this data could enable attackers to map the control system topology, identify critical assets, and potentially exploit other vulnerabilities within the industrial network. This weakness aligns with ATT&CK technique T1082, which focuses on system information discovery, and represents a significant threat to industrial cybersecurity posture.
The mitigation strategy for this vulnerability requires immediate implementation of authentication controls for the affected endpoint, ensuring that all requests to /html/devstat.html require proper authorization before granting access to PLC status information. Organizations should also implement network segmentation to limit access to industrial control systems, deploy intrusion detection systems to monitor for unauthorized access attempts, and conduct regular security assessments of industrial control environments. The software vendor has addressed this issue in version 4.3, making it essential for users to upgrade to the patched version. Additionally, implementing network access controls and restricting administrative access to industrial systems through secure authentication mechanisms will significantly reduce the risk of exploitation. Regular security audits and vulnerability assessments should be conducted to identify similar authentication weaknesses in other industrial control system components and ensure comprehensive protection against similar threats.