CVE-2019-20698 in WAC505
Summary
by MITRE
Certain NETGEAR devices are affected by disclosure of sensitive information. This affects WAC505 before 8.0.5.5 and WAC510 before 8.0.5.5.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/27/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-20698 represents a sensitive information disclosure issue affecting specific NETGEAR wireless access point models including the WAC505 and WAC510. This weakness allows unauthorized parties to extract confidential data from affected devices, potentially compromising network security and user privacy. The vulnerability specifically impacts firmware versions prior to 8.0.5.5, indicating that devices running these older software versions remain at significant risk. Such information disclosure vulnerabilities are particularly concerning in network infrastructure devices as they often provide attackers with critical data that can be leveraged for further exploitation.
The technical flaw in this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and insufficient access controls within the affected NETGEAR devices. When these wireless access points process certain requests or queries, they fail to properly sanitize their responses, inadvertently exposing sensitive system information to unauthenticated users. This type of vulnerability typically falls under CWE-200, which addresses the disclosure of sensitive information, and represents a classic example of how insufficient security controls in network devices can lead to unauthorized data exposure. The flaw likely exists in the web interface or management protocols that handle device configuration and status information, where proper authentication checks are either missing or improperly implemented.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it creates opportunities for attackers to gather intelligence about network configurations, device models, firmware versions, and potentially administrative credentials or network topology details. Network administrators who fail to update their affected devices may unknowingly provide attackers with valuable reconnaissance data that could facilitate more sophisticated attacks. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1082, which covers system information discovery, and T1566, which covers credential access through various methods. The exposed information could enable attackers to craft more targeted attacks against the specific device models or network configurations, potentially leading to complete device compromise or network infiltration.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigation strategies including mandatory firmware updates to versions 8.0.5.5 or later for all affected WAC505 and WAC510 devices. Network segmentation and access control measures should be enhanced to limit exposure of these devices to untrusted networks. Regular vulnerability assessments and network monitoring should be conducted to identify any remaining vulnerable devices within the infrastructure. Additionally, implementing network access control lists and disabling unnecessary services on affected devices can help reduce the attack surface. Security teams should also consider conducting penetration testing to verify that the updates have properly resolved the vulnerability and that no other related issues exist within the network infrastructure.