CVE-2018-2906 in Hardware Management Pack
Summary
by MITRE
Vulnerability in the Hardware Management Pack component of Oracle Sun Systems Products Suite (subcomponent: Ipmitool). The supported version that is affected is 11.3. Difficult to exploit vulnerability allows unauthenticated attacker with network access via IPMI to compromise Hardware Management Pack. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized read access to a subset of Hardware Management Pack accessible data. CVSS 3.0 Base Score 3.7 (Confidentiality impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/18/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-2906 resides within the Hardware Management Pack component of Oracle Sun Systems Products Suite, specifically affecting the Ipmitool subcomponent. This flaw represents a significant security concern for enterprise environments that rely on Oracle's hardware management infrastructure, particularly those utilizing Oracle Sun systems where the affected version 11.3 remains vulnerable. The vulnerability manifests in the form of insufficient authentication mechanisms within the IPMI (Intelligent Platform Management Interface) protocol implementation, creating an attack surface that can be exploited by remote adversaries without requiring any prior authentication credentials.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from the inadequate security controls within the IPMI communication framework that governs hardware management operations. IPMI operates at the hardware level and provides out-of-band management capabilities that allow administrators to monitor and manage systems remotely, even when the operating system is down or unresponsive. However, this vulnerability creates a scenario where unauthenticated network connections can establish communication with the hardware management interface, potentially allowing attackers to access sensitive configuration data and system information. The CVSS score of 3.7 indicates a low to medium severity classification, though the difficulty to exploit rating of high suggests that while the vulnerability exists, successful exploitation requires specific conditions and knowledge of the target environment.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability creates a potential data exposure risk that could allow attackers to gain unauthorized access to hardware management data, though the scope of compromise is limited to a subset of accessible information. The confidentiality impact rating of low suggests that while sensitive data may be accessible, the overall system compromise potential remains constrained. The attack vector requiring network access via IPMI indicates that organizations with proper network segmentation and firewall policies may be partially protected, though the vulnerability still represents a significant risk in environments where IPMI traffic is not adequately restricted or monitored. This type of vulnerability directly impacts the principle of least privilege and can undermine the security posture of critical infrastructure systems that rely on hardware management capabilities.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigation strategies including network segmentation to isolate IPMI traffic, proper firewall configuration to restrict access to IPMI ports, and regular monitoring of network traffic for suspicious IPMI communications. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-284 (Improper Access Control) and may be categorized under ATT&CK technique T1072 (Software Deployment Tools) when attackers leverage management interfaces for reconnaissance. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing network intrusion detection systems capable of identifying anomalous IPMI traffic patterns and ensure that all Oracle Sun systems are updated to patched versions. The risk assessment should include evaluating the necessity of IPMI functionality and implementing stronger authentication mechanisms such as IPMI v2.0 with strong encryption and authentication protocols to prevent unauthorized access to hardware management interfaces. Regular security audits of management interfaces and implementation of principle of least privilege access controls will further reduce the attack surface and mitigate the potential impact of similar vulnerabilities in the future.