CVE-2018-7363 in ZXHN F670
Summary
by MITRE
All versions up to V1.1.10P3T18 of ZTE ZXHN F670 product are impacted by improper authorization vulnerability. Since appviahttp service has no authorization delay, an attacker can be allowed to brute force account credentials.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/11/2023
The CVE-2018-7363 vulnerability affects ZTE ZXHN F670 routers running firmware versions up to V1.1.10P3T18, representing a critical improper authorization flaw that undermines the device's security posture. This vulnerability specifically targets the appviahttp service component which lacks proper authorization delay mechanisms, creating a significant attack surface for credential brute force attempts. The flaw resides in the authentication mechanism's design where the system does not implement adequate rate limiting or delay controls between authentication attempts, making it susceptible to automated attack vectors.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the absence of defensive measures such as account lockout mechanisms, exponential backoff algorithms, or temporary account blocking after failed authentication attempts. The appviahttp service operates without these protective controls, allowing attackers to rapidly submit multiple credential combinations without experiencing meaningful delays between attempts. This characteristic transforms what should be a time-consuming authentication process into an automated brute force operation that can systematically test numerous username and password combinations within minutes or hours.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability enables attackers to gain unauthorized administrative access to the router's management interface, potentially leading to complete network compromise. The successful exploitation of this flaw could result in unauthorized network configuration changes, data exfiltration, man-in-the-middle attacks, or the installation of persistent backdoors. The vulnerability affects not only individual devices but also represents a broader security risk for organizations relying on ZTE routers, as compromised devices can serve as entry points for lateral movement within network infrastructures. The impact extends beyond simple credential theft to encompass potential disruption of network services and unauthorized access to sensitive data flowing through the compromised router.
Security professionals should consider this vulnerability in the context of CWE-305 authentication weaknesses and align it with ATT&CK techniques such as T1110.003 (Brute Force: Password Guessing) and T1078.004 (Valid Accounts: Default Accounts). The vulnerability demonstrates poor security design principles where authentication controls fail to implement basic rate limiting mechanisms that are standard in modern security frameworks. Organizations should immediately implement mitigations including firmware updates to the latest available versions, network segmentation to isolate affected devices, and monitoring for unauthorized access attempts. Additional protective measures should include disabling unnecessary HTTP services, implementing strong authentication policies, and deploying intrusion detection systems to monitor for brute force activity patterns. The vulnerability underscores the importance of implementing proper authorization controls and rate limiting mechanisms as fundamental security requirements in network device implementations.