CVE-2018-21026 in Command Suite
Summary
by MITRE
A vulnerability in Hitachi Command Suite 7.x and 8.x before 8.6.5-00 allows an unauthenticated remote user to read internal information.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/13/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-21026 represents a critical information disclosure flaw within Hitachi Command Suite versions 7.x and 8.x prior to 8.6.5-00. This security weakness enables unauthenticated remote attackers to access internal system information without requiring any credentials or prior authorization. The Hitachi Command Suite serves as a comprehensive management platform for storage systems, making this vulnerability particularly concerning for organizations relying on Hitachi storage infrastructure. The affected versions encompass a significant portion of the product lifecycle, indicating that this flaw has been present for an extended period and potentially exposed numerous installations to risk.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient access controls and authentication mechanisms within the application's internal API endpoints or administrative interfaces. Attackers can exploit this weakness by directly accessing specific URLs or endpoints that should typically require authentication or authorization. The vulnerability allows for the retrieval of sensitive internal data including system configurations, user information, storage topology details, and potentially other confidential operational data that should remain protected from unauthorized access. This type of flaw falls under the CWE-200 category of "Information Exposure" and represents a classic example of inadequate access control implementation. The vulnerability's remote nature means that attackers can exploit it from any location without needing physical access to the system or network.
The operational impact of CVE-2018-21026 extends beyond simple information disclosure, as the leaked internal information could provide attackers with valuable intelligence for subsequent attacks. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability gains knowledge about the internal structure of the storage environment, including device configurations, network topology, and potentially credential storage mechanisms. This information could facilitate more sophisticated attacks such as privilege escalation, lateral movement within the network, or targeted attacks against specific storage components. The vulnerability directly impacts the principle of least privilege and can compromise the confidentiality of sensitive operational data. Organizations may face compliance violations under data protection regulations such as gdpr or hipaa if this information is accessed and potentially misused, as it contains system-level details that could be exploited by malicious actors.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability primarily involve applying the official security patch released by Hitachi as part of version 8.6.5-00. Organizations should immediately upgrade their Hitachi Command Suite installations to the patched version to eliminate the risk. Network segmentation and firewall rules should be implemented to restrict access to the Hitachi Command Suite interfaces, particularly limiting access to only trusted administrative networks. Regular security audits should be conducted to identify any other potentially exposed systems within the storage infrastructure. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper authentication mechanisms and access control implementation, aligning with ATT&CK technique T1078 for Valid Accounts and T1083 for File and Directory Discovery. Additionally, organizations should implement monitoring solutions to detect unauthorized access attempts to management interfaces and establish incident response procedures for handling potential information disclosure events.