CVE-2019-5347 in Intelligent Management Center PLAT
Summary
by MITRE
A remote authentication bypass 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 • 06/20/2020
The vulnerability CVE-2019-5347 represents a critical remote authentication bypass flaw in HPE Intelligent Management Center (IMC) PLAT software versions prior to 7.3 E0506P09. This issue stems from improper validation of authentication tokens and session management mechanisms within the IMC platform, which is widely deployed for network management and monitoring across enterprise environments. The vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to gain administrative access to the system without providing valid credentials, fundamentally undermining the security posture of organizations relying on this platform for their network infrastructure management.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in the flawed implementation of the authentication subsystem where certain API endpoints fail to properly verify user credentials before granting access to administrative functions. Specifically, the vulnerability manifests when the system processes authentication requests for specific management interfaces, particularly those related to the platform's core services. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting specially formatted requests that bypass the normal authentication flow, effectively allowing them to execute arbitrary commands and access sensitive system information. This flaw aligns with CWE-287 which addresses improper authentication issues and represents a classic example of weak session management that can be exploited through credential stuffing or token manipulation techniques.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and far-reaching for organizations using affected IMC versions. Successful exploitation enables attackers to assume full administrative privileges, allowing them to modify network configurations, access sensitive data, install malicious software, and potentially pivot to other systems within the network. Given that IMC is commonly used for managing critical network infrastructure components including switches, routers, and security devices, this vulnerability creates a significant attack surface that could lead to widespread network compromise. The remote nature of the exploit means that attackers can target vulnerable systems from anywhere on the internet without requiring physical access or prior network presence, making it particularly dangerous for organizations with distributed network management deployments.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigation strategies including upgrading to HPE IMC version 7.3 E0506P09 or later, which contains the necessary patches to address the authentication bypass vulnerability. Network segmentation should be implemented to isolate IMC systems from critical network segments, while firewall rules should be configured to restrict access to IMC management interfaces to trusted IP addresses only. Additionally, organizations should conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify all instances of affected software and implement monitoring solutions to detect potential exploitation attempts. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to technique T1078 for valid accounts and T1566 for phishing, as attackers may attempt to leverage the compromised administrative access for further network infiltration and data exfiltration activities. Regular security audits and patch management processes should be enhanced to ensure timely deployment of security updates and prevent similar vulnerabilities from being exploited in the future.