CVE-2018-7123 in Intelligent Management Center PLAT
Summary
by MITRE
A remote denial of service vulnerability was identified in HPE Intelligent Management Center (IMC) PLAT earlier than version 7.3 E0506P09.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/19/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-7123 represents a critical remote denial of service flaw affecting HPE Intelligent Management Center (IMC) PLAT versions prior to 7.3 E0506P09. This issue resides within the platform's handling of network traffic and system resources, creating an exploitable condition that allows remote attackers to disrupt service availability. The vulnerability specifically targets the authentication and session management components of the IMC platform, which serves as a centralized management solution for HPE networking equipment and infrastructure. Organizations relying on this platform for network monitoring and management face significant operational risks when systems remain unpatched, as the vulnerability can be exploited without authentication credentials. The affected IMC platform operates as a critical network management tool that provides visibility into enterprise network infrastructure, making it an attractive target for attackers seeking to disrupt business operations. This vulnerability demonstrates the importance of timely patch management in enterprise network environments where centralized management systems control critical infrastructure components.
The technical implementation of this denial of service vulnerability stems from improper input validation and resource handling within the IMC platform's network processing modules. Attackers can craft malicious network packets or HTTP requests that trigger buffer overflow conditions or resource exhaustion scenarios within the platform's processing pipeline. The flaw manifests when the system fails to properly validate incoming data streams or when it does not adequately limit resource consumption during legitimate processing operations. This allows attackers to consume excessive system resources such as memory, CPU cycles, or network bandwidth, ultimately causing the platform to become unresponsive or crash entirely. The vulnerability operates at the application layer and can be exploited over the network without requiring any prior authentication or privileged access. The specific nature of the flaw suggests weaknesses in the platform's defensive programming practices and input sanitization mechanisms, aligning with common software security vulnerabilities categorized under CWE-129 and CWE-131. The attack vector typically involves sending malformed requests to specific ports or endpoints that the IMC platform listens on for management communications.
The operational impact of CVE-2018-7123 extends beyond simple service disruption to potentially compromise entire network management operations. When exploited successfully, the vulnerability can cause the IMC platform to become unavailable for legitimate users, preventing network administrators from monitoring or managing their infrastructure effectively. This creates cascading operational problems as network issues may go undetected or unaddressed during the platform outage, potentially leading to extended service degradation or complete network failures. Organizations using HPE IMC for critical network operations face business continuity risks, as the platform's unavailability can affect network performance monitoring, configuration management, and incident response capabilities. The vulnerability also poses risks to network security operations, as administrators lose visibility into network activity and cannot respond to potential security threats during the service disruption. Additionally, the platform's downtime can affect compliance reporting and audit requirements, particularly in regulated environments where continuous network monitoring is mandatory. The attack can be executed remotely from any location with network access to the vulnerable system, making it particularly dangerous in environments with exposed management interfaces.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigation strategies to protect against exploitation of CVE-2018-7123, with the most effective approach being the deployment of available security patches from HPE. The vendor released version 7.3 E0506P09 and subsequent updates that address the vulnerability through improved input validation and resource management controls. Network segmentation and access control measures should be implemented to limit exposure of the vulnerable IMC platform to untrusted networks, particularly by restricting access to management ports and interfaces. Organizations should also deploy network monitoring solutions to detect anomalous traffic patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts, as the vulnerability often manifests through specific packet structures or resource consumption patterns. The implementation of intrusion detection systems with signature-based detection capabilities can help identify and block malicious traffic targeting this vulnerability. Additionally, regular vulnerability assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify other potential weaknesses in network management infrastructure, with particular attention to similar issues in other HPE products and third-party management platforms. Security teams should also establish incident response procedures specifically addressing denial of service vulnerabilities in critical network management systems, ensuring rapid response capabilities when such incidents occur. The vulnerability highlights the importance of maintaining current security patches and implementing defense-in-depth strategies that reduce the attack surface of critical infrastructure management systems.