CVE-2018-5472 in IntelliSpace Portal
Summary
by MITRE
Philips Intellispace Portal all versions 7.0.x and 8.0.x have an insecure windows permissions vulnerability that could allow an attacker to gain unauthorized access and in some cases escalate their level of privilege or execute arbitrary code.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/16/2020
The Philips Intellispace Portal represents a critical healthcare information system used for medical imaging and patient data management across hospitals and healthcare facilities worldwide. This platform serves as a centralized hub for radiology workflows, PACS integration, and clinical decision support systems. The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-5472 specifically targets the Windows permission configuration within the software's installation and runtime environment, creating a significant security gap that adversaries can exploit to compromise the entire system infrastructure. The affected versions 7.0.x and 8.0.x represent widely deployed iterations across healthcare networks, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous due to its potential for widespread impact.
The technical flaw manifests through improper Windows permission settings that fail to enforce proper access controls for system resources and processes. This insecure configuration allows local attackers with minimal privileges to manipulate system components that should remain restricted to authorized administrative users. The vulnerability stems from inadequate privilege separation mechanisms within the application's Windows service installations and executable file permissions. Attackers can exploit this weakness to escalate their privileges from standard user level to system administrator level, enabling them to modify critical system files, install malicious software, or access sensitive patient data repositories. The underlying cause aligns with CWE-276, which addresses improper file permissions, and CWE-732, which covers inadequate permissions for critical resources. The vulnerability creates a persistent backdoor that can be leveraged for long-term system compromise.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access to encompass complete system compromise and potential patient data breaches. Healthcare organizations utilizing affected versions of Intellispace Portal face significant risks including medical identity theft, unauthorized modification of patient records, and potential disruption of critical medical imaging workflows. The ability to execute arbitrary code provides attackers with the capability to install rootkits, deploy ransomware, or establish persistent command and control channels within the healthcare network. This vulnerability directly impacts the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of healthcare information systems, violating fundamental principles of healthcare data protection. The threat landscape for healthcare organizations becomes particularly concerning as this vulnerability can be exploited without requiring specialized knowledge or expensive tools, making it attractive to both opportunistic attackers and nation-state actors targeting healthcare infrastructure.
Organizations should immediately implement multiple layers of defense to mitigate this vulnerability while awaiting official patches from Philips. The primary mitigation strategy involves reviewing and correcting Windows permission settings for all Intellispace Portal components, ensuring that system services run with minimal required privileges and that file permissions follow the principle of least privilege. Network segmentation should be implemented to isolate the Intellispace Portal from other critical systems, reducing the attack surface and limiting lateral movement capabilities for potential attackers. Security monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual privilege escalation attempts or unauthorized code execution within the affected system environment. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing application whitelisting policies and mandatory access controls to prevent unauthorized software installation. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper system hardening practices and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1068, which covers privilege escalation through local system exploitation, and T1059, covering command and scripting interface usage. Regular security audits and vulnerability assessments should be conducted to ensure that similar permission misconfigurations do not exist in other healthcare information systems within the organization's infrastructure.