CVE-2019-5396 in 3PAR Service Processor
Summary
by MITRE
A remote authentication bypass vulnerability was discovered in HPE 3PAR Service Processor version(s): prior to 5.0.5.1.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/23/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-5396 represents a critical remote authentication bypass flaw affecting HPE 3PAR Service Processor software versions prior to 5.0.5.1. This issue resides within the service processor's authentication mechanism, which is a critical component responsible for managing administrative access to storage systems. The service processor acts as a management interface that provides out-of-band access to storage arrays, making it a prime target for attackers seeking persistent access to enterprise storage infrastructure. The authentication bypass vulnerability allows unauthenticated remote attackers to gain administrative privileges without proper credentials, fundamentally compromising the security posture of affected systems.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability stems from improper authentication handling within the service processor's web interface implementation. Specifically, the flaw manifests in the way the system processes authentication requests and validates user credentials. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting specific HTTP requests that bypass the normal authentication flow, effectively allowing them to access administrative functions without providing valid login credentials. This type of vulnerability aligns with CWE-287 which describes improper authentication issues, and more specifically relates to CWE-305 which covers authentication bypass through multiple means. The vulnerability exists due to insufficient input validation and inadequate session management within the web server component of the service processor.
The operational impact of CVE-2019-5396 is severe and multifaceted across enterprise storage environments. Once exploited, attackers gain full administrative access to the 3PAR Service Processor, enabling them to perform critical operations such as modifying storage configurations, creating or deleting volumes, accessing sensitive data, and potentially escalating privileges to gain access to underlying storage arrays. The remote nature of the vulnerability means attackers can exploit it from anywhere on the network, making detection and containment significantly more challenging. Organizations using affected 3PAR systems face risks including data breaches, unauthorized data modification, storage system compromise, and potential disruption of business operations. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to T1078 which covers valid accounts and T1566 which covers credential harvesting, as attackers can leverage the bypass to maintain persistent access to the storage infrastructure.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate action from affected organizations. The primary and most effective remediation is upgrading the HPE 3PAR Service Processor firmware to version 5.0.5.1 or later, which contains the necessary security patches. Organizations should also implement network segmentation to isolate service processor interfaces from general network traffic, reducing the attack surface available to potential attackers. Additional protective measures include disabling unnecessary services, implementing strict firewall rules, and monitoring network traffic for suspicious authentication attempts. Security teams should conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify all affected systems and establish monitoring procedures to detect exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of maintaining current firmware versions and implementing robust network security controls around management interfaces, particularly in storage environments where unauthorized access can lead to significant data compromise and operational disruption.