CVE-2019-15975 in Data Center Network Manager
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple vulnerabilities in the authentication mechanisms of Cisco Data Center Network Manager (DCNM) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to bypass authentication and execute arbitrary actions with administrative privileges on an affected device. For more information about these vulnerabilities, see the Details section of this advisory.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/30/2024
Cisco Data Center Network Manager version 10.3.1 and earlier contains multiple authentication bypass vulnerabilities that enable unauthenticated remote attackers to escalate privileges and execute arbitrary commands with administrative access. These vulnerabilities stem from insufficient validation of authentication tokens and improper session management within the web-based management interface. The flaws allow attackers to bypass the standard authentication process entirely, gaining direct access to administrative functions without providing valid credentials. The affected system components include the web application framework and the underlying authentication service that handles user sessions and privilege verification.
The technical implementation of these vulnerabilities involves weaknesses in the authentication token handling mechanism where the system fails to properly validate session identifiers and access tokens. Attackers can exploit these flaws by crafting malicious requests that either reuse or manipulate existing tokens, or by directly accessing administrative endpoints without proper authentication checks. This represents a critical failure in the principle of least privilege and violates fundamental security controls. The vulnerabilities align with CWE-287 which addresses improper authentication and CWE-306 which covers missing authentication. From an operational perspective, these flaws provide attackers with complete administrative control over the DCNM system, enabling them to modify network configurations, access sensitive data, and potentially compromise the entire data center network infrastructure.
The impact of these vulnerabilities extends beyond simple privilege escalation as they create a persistent backdoor for attackers to maintain access to the network management system. Once exploited, attackers can manipulate network policies, view confidential information, and potentially disrupt network operations. The remote nature of the attack means that threat actors do not require physical access or network proximity to exploit these vulnerabilities. This characteristic significantly increases the attack surface and potential damage. The vulnerabilities also align with attack patterns documented in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under T1078 for valid accounts and T1068 for exploit for privilege escalation. Organizations using Cisco DCNM in production environments face significant risk as these vulnerabilities can be exploited by automated scanning tools, making them particularly dangerous in environments with limited monitoring capabilities.
Mitigation strategies should include immediate patching of affected Cisco DCNM versions to address the authentication bypass flaws. Network administrators should implement strict access controls and monitoring for the web interface, including rate limiting and failed authentication tracking. Additional defensive measures include network segmentation to isolate the DCNM system from critical network infrastructure, implementing strong firewall rules to restrict access to administrative ports, and deploying intrusion detection systems to monitor for exploitation attempts. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify similar issues in related systems and ensure that the authentication mechanisms remain robust against evolving attack techniques. Organizations should also consider implementing multi-factor authentication where supported and maintain comprehensive audit logs for all administrative activities to detect unauthorized access attempts.