CVE-2018-25150 in ShieldLink SL175EHQ
Summary
by MITRE • 12/24/2025
Ecessa ShieldLink SL175EHQ 10.7.4 contains a cross-site request forgery vulnerability that allows attackers to create administrative user accounts without authentication. Attackers can craft a malicious web page with a hidden form to add a superuser account by tricking a logged-in administrator into loading the page.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/25/2025
The CVE-2018-25150 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw in Ecessa ShieldLink SL175EHQ firmware version 10.7.4. This vulnerability resides within the web-based administrative interface of the network security appliance, which is designed to protect enterprise networks from various cyber threats. The flaw stems from the absence of proper authentication and authorization checks when processing administrative requests, particularly those related to user account creation. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it allows unauthenticated attackers to exploit the trust relationship between the web application and authenticated users.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability involves the manipulation of the web application's administrative functions through crafted malicious web pages. Attackers can create hidden HTML forms that automatically submit requests to the vulnerable device's administrative interface when loaded by a victim. These forms typically contain parameters that specify the creation of a new administrative user account with elevated privileges. The vulnerability occurs because the device does not implement anti-CSRF tokens or other protective mechanisms that would verify the origin of requests. The attack vector is particularly effective because it relies on social engineering to trick logged-in administrators into visiting malicious pages, exploiting the browser's automatic handling of cookies and authentication state.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and far-reaching for organizations relying on Ecessa ShieldLink SL175EHQ devices for network security. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability can establish persistent administrative access to the device, potentially gaining control over network traffic filtering, firewall rules, and other critical security functions. The creation of a superuser account provides complete administrative privileges, allowing attackers to modify device configurations, disable security features, or redirect network traffic for malicious purposes. This vulnerability effectively undermines the security model of the device, as it allows attackers to bypass authentication mechanisms entirely and assume full administrative control.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including network segmentation to isolate critical devices, regular firmware updates to patch known vulnerabilities, and enhanced monitoring of administrative activities. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery, and represents a clear violation of the principle of least privilege in security design. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving privilege escalation and persistence through administrative access, potentially enabling further lateral movement within the network. Network administrators should also consider implementing web application firewalls and disabling unnecessary administrative interfaces when not actively required, while maintaining comprehensive audit logs to detect unauthorized administrative activities. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper input validation and authentication mechanisms in web applications, particularly those handling sensitive administrative functions.