CVE-2019-7488 in Email Security Appliance
Summary
by MITRE
Weak default password cause vulnerability in SonicWall Email Security appliance which leads to attacker gain access to appliance database. This vulnerability affected Email Security Appliance version 10.0.2 and earlier.
Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/24/2019
The SonicWall Email Security appliance vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-7488 represents a critical authentication weakness that stems from the use of weak default credentials in the device's configuration. This flaw specifically impacts versions 10.0.2 and earlier of the Email Security Appliance, creating an exploitable entry point that allows unauthorized users to gain administrative access to the system. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-798 as the use of hard-coded credentials, which directly violates security best practices and industry standards for secure system design.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs through the appliance's default administrative account that ships with a well-known default password, typically set to a common value such as "admin" or "password." Attackers can leverage this weakness by simply connecting to the appliance's web interface or management console and using the hardcoded credentials to authenticate as the administrator. Once authenticated, the attacker gains full access to the appliance's database, which contains sensitive email configurations, user information, email logs, and potentially access to the underlying system files and network configurations. This level of access enables attackers to modify email filtering rules, exfiltrate email data, establish persistent access, and potentially use the appliance as a pivot point for further attacks within the network.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access, as it fundamentally undermines the security posture of organizations relying on SonicWall Email Security appliances. The database access granted through this vulnerability can lead to data breaches, email content interception, and potential compromise of the entire email infrastructure. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to T1078 Valid Accounts and T1003 Credential Dumping techniques, as attackers can leverage the default credentials to establish persistent access and potentially extract additional credentials from the compromised system. Organizations may face regulatory compliance violations and significant financial losses due to the exposure of sensitive email communications and potential data leakage through this authenticated access vector.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2019-7488 require immediate action to address the default credential issue and implement comprehensive security controls. Organizations must change the default administrative passwords to strong, unique credentials immediately upon discovering the vulnerability, with passwords meeting complexity requirements of at least 12 characters including uppercase, lowercase, numeric, and special characters. Network segmentation should be implemented to isolate the appliance from critical network segments, and access to the appliance should be restricted through firewall rules and VPN access controls. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify similar default credential issues in other network devices, as this vulnerability type represents a common attack surface across various vendors. Additionally, implementing automated patch management processes and security monitoring solutions can help detect unauthorized access attempts and ensure that default credentials are promptly changed across all affected systems. The remediation process should also include reviewing and updating the organization's security policies to prevent similar issues in future deployments and ensuring that all network devices are properly configured with unique administrative credentials during initial setup.