CVE-2018-4861 in M875
Summary
by MITRE
A vulnerability has been identified in SCALANCE M875 (All versions). An authenticated remote attacker with access to the web interface (443/tcp), could potentially read and download arbitrary files from the device's file system. Successful exploitation requires that the attacker has network access to the web interface. The attacker must be authenticated as administrative user to exploit the security vulnerability. At the time of advisory publication no public exploitation of this security vulnerability was known.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/29/2023
The SCALANCE M875 industrial network device presents a critical security flaw that compromises the integrity of its web-based management interface. This vulnerability specifically affects all versions of the device and represents a significant risk to industrial control systems that rely on such equipment for network management and configuration. The device operates on port 443/tcp for its web interface, making it accessible over standard HTTPS connections while maintaining the security implications of this particular flaw.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from improper input validation within the device's web interface implementation. When an authenticated administrative user accesses the web interface, the system fails to adequately sanitize user-supplied parameters that control file access operations. This allows an attacker who has already established administrative credentials to manipulate the file system access mechanisms and potentially read or download arbitrary files from the device's internal storage. The flaw essentially enables a privilege escalation scenario where authenticated administrative access can be leveraged to bypass normal file system access controls.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft, as it provides attackers with access to potentially sensitive configuration files, system logs, firmware components, and other administrative data that could be used for further exploitation or system compromise. Industrial environments utilizing SCALANCE M875 devices face significant risk from this vulnerability, as it could enable attackers to gain insights into network configurations, identify additional attack vectors, or extract credentials and cryptographic keys that might be stored within accessible files. The vulnerability's requirement for administrative authentication means that it represents an insider threat or credential compromise scenario rather than a simple external attack vector.
Security practitioners should recognize this vulnerability as a variant of CWE-22 Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory, which falls under the broader category of path traversal attacks that have been consistently identified as critical threats in industrial control systems. The ATT&CK framework would categorize this as a privilege escalation technique where an attacker leverages existing administrative access to expand their capabilities within the target system. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including restricting network access to the web interface, enforcing strong authentication controls, and conducting thorough network segmentation to limit the potential impact of credential compromise. Additionally, regular firmware updates and vulnerability assessments should be conducted to address similar issues that may exist in other industrial equipment within the network infrastructure.