CVE-2019-1946 in Enterprise NFV Infrastructure Software
Summary
by MITRE
A vulnerability in the web-based management interface of Cisco Enterprise NFV Infrastructure Software (NFVIS) could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to bypass authentication and get limited access to the web-based management interface. The vulnerability is due to an incorrect implementation of authentication in the web-based management interface. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted authentication request to the web-based management interface on an affected system. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to view limited configuration details and potentially upload a virtual machine image.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/21/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-1946 resides within the web-based management interface of Cisco Enterprise NFV Infrastructure Software commonly known as NFVIS. This software platform serves as the foundation for network function virtualization deployments within enterprise environments, managing virtualized network services and infrastructure components. The flaw represents a critical security weakness that undermines the fundamental authentication mechanisms designed to protect administrative access to the system. The vulnerability stems from an improper implementation approach that fails to correctly validate authentication requests, creating a pathway for unauthorized access that bypasses the intended security controls. This issue affects organizations that rely on NFVIS for managing their virtualized network infrastructure, potentially exposing their network services to unauthorized manipulation and configuration changes.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through the manipulation of authentication requests sent to the web-based management interface. Attackers can craft specific requests that exploit the flawed authentication logic, allowing them to gain access to the system without proper credentials. This improper implementation creates a situation where the system fails to properly validate the legitimacy of authentication attempts, essentially providing a backdoor for unauthorized access. The vulnerability specifically targets the authentication mechanism itself rather than other system components, making it particularly dangerous as it undermines the primary security control that should protect all other system functions. The authentication bypass allows attackers to establish a foothold within the management interface where they can perform actions that would normally require valid administrative credentials.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access, as successful exploitation provides attackers with the ability to view limited configuration details and potentially upload virtual machine images. This capability represents a significant threat to network infrastructure integrity, as attackers can discover system configurations, network topologies, and other sensitive information that could be used for further attacks. The ability to upload virtual machine images introduces additional risk, as attackers could potentially deploy malicious virtual machines within the network function virtualization environment, effectively compromising the entire NFVIS deployment. Organizations using this software face potential disruption to their network services, data exposure, and possible complete compromise of their virtualized network infrastructure. The limited nature of the access granted suggests that while attackers cannot perform all administrative functions, they can still cause significant damage through configuration viewing and virtual machine deployment activities.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations to address this vulnerability, including applying the latest security patches provided by Cisco as part of their regular security updates. Network segmentation and access controls should be strengthened to limit exposure of the NFVIS management interface to only necessary administrative users. Monitoring and logging of authentication attempts should be enhanced to detect potential exploitation attempts, and regular security assessments should be conducted to identify any unauthorized access to the system. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-287 which addresses improper authentication issues, and represents a clear violation of the principle of least privilege in security design. From an attack perspective, this vulnerability maps to several ATT&CK techniques including initial access through unauthorized access and privilege escalation via system service manipulation. Organizations should also consider implementing network-based detection measures and regular vulnerability scanning to identify systems running affected versions of NFVIS and ensure comprehensive protection against similar authentication bypass vulnerabilities in their network infrastructure.