CVE-2018-6444 in Network Advisor
Summary
by MITRE
A Vulnerability in Brocade Network Advisor versions before 14.1.0 could allow a remote unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitray code. The vulnerability could also be exploited to execute arbitrary OS Commands.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/04/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-6444 represents a critical remote code execution flaw in Brocade Network Advisor software versions prior to 14.1.0. This security weakness exposes organizations to significant operational risks as it permits unauthorized attackers to gain arbitrary code execution capabilities without requiring authentication credentials. The flaw exists within the network management software that is widely deployed in enterprise environments for monitoring and managing network infrastructure components.
This vulnerability stems from improper input validation mechanisms within the Brocade Network Advisor application. Attackers can exploit this weakness by sending specially crafted malicious payloads to the affected system, which then gets processed without adequate sanitization or validation checks. The technical implementation appears to lack proper boundary checking and parameter validation for user-supplied inputs, creating an avenue for code injection attacks. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-74 as it involves injection flaws where untrusted data is used to modify the structure of executed commands or queries, and under CWE-94 which encompasses the execution of arbitrary code due to improper handling of external inputs.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple remote code execution to include arbitrary operating system command execution capabilities. This means that an attacker could potentially gain full control over the underlying operating system, allowing them to install malware, modify system configurations, access sensitive data, or establish persistent backdoors. The implications are particularly severe in network management contexts where such software typically runs with elevated privileges and has access to critical network infrastructure. Organizations relying on older versions of Brocade Network Advisor face risks of complete system compromise, data breaches, and disruption of network operations that could affect business continuity and regulatory compliance.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2018-6444 should prioritize immediate software updates to Brocade Network Advisor version 14.1.0 or later, which contain the necessary patches to address the input validation flaws. Network administrators should also implement network segmentation and access controls to limit exposure of affected systems to untrusted networks. The use of intrusion detection systems and monitoring tools can help detect anomalous activities that may indicate exploitation attempts. Organizations should also consider implementing the principle of least privilege for network management applications and regularly conduct security assessments of their network infrastructure to identify and remediate similar vulnerabilities. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to T1059 for command and scripting interpreter and T1068 for exploit for privilege escalation, making it a significant concern for defensive security operations.