CVE-2020-3312 in Firepower Threat Defense
Summary
by MITRE
A vulnerability in the application policy configuration of Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to gain unauthorized read access to sensitive data on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to insufficient application identification. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted traffic to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to gain unauthorized read access to sensitive data.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/15/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2020-3312 represents a critical weakness in the application policy configuration of Cisco Firepower Threat Defense software, specifically affecting the device's ability to properly identify and handle application traffic. This flaw stems from insufficient application identification mechanisms within the FTD software's processing pipeline, creating a pathway for unauthorized data access that bypasses normal security controls. The vulnerability exists at the application layer where the system fails to adequately distinguish between legitimate and malicious traffic patterns, allowing an attacker to manipulate the system's application recognition capabilities through carefully crafted network packets.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through the manipulation of application identification processes within the FTD software stack, which operates at the network security level where traffic inspection and policy enforcement take place. Attackers can craft specific traffic patterns that exploit the incomplete application identification logic, potentially allowing them to access sensitive data that should normally be protected by the device's security policies. This weakness particularly affects the software's ability to properly classify and handle application traffic, enabling attackers to bypass normal access controls and gain unauthorized read access to data stored on or transmitted through the affected device. The flaw is classified as a weakness in application identification and classification, which falls under the broader category of insufficient application identification as defined by CWE-254.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data access, as it represents a fundamental failure in the device's security posture that could expose sensitive information to unauthorized parties. Network administrators face the risk of data leakage through the exploitation of this vulnerability, which could include confidential network information, user credentials, or other sensitive data that the FTD device is designed to protect. The remote nature of the attack means that adversaries can exploit this vulnerability from outside the network perimeter without requiring authentication credentials, making the attack surface significantly larger. This vulnerability directly impacts the confidentiality aspect of the CIA triad and represents a serious degradation of the device's security capabilities, potentially allowing attackers to gain insights into network operations and data flows that should remain protected.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2020-3312 should focus on immediate software updates from Cisco to address the application identification weakness, while implementing additional network monitoring and anomaly detection measures to identify potential exploitation attempts. Organizations should review their current FTD configurations to ensure proper application policy enforcement and consider implementing network segmentation to limit the potential impact of successful exploitation. The vulnerability's classification under ATT&CK technique T1071.004 for application layer protocol manipulation suggests that defensive measures should include traffic inspection and policy enforcement monitoring to detect anomalous application identification patterns. Additionally, implementing network access controls and regular security assessments can help identify and remediate similar vulnerabilities in the broader network infrastructure, while maintaining compliance with security standards that require proper application identification and traffic classification mechanisms to prevent unauthorized data access.