CVE-2023-27407 in SCALANCE LPE9403
Summary
by MITRE • 05/09/2023
A vulnerability has been identified in SCALANCE LPE9403 (All versions < V2.1). The web based management of affected device does not properly validate user input, making it susceptible to command injection. This could allow an authenticated remote attacker to access the underlying operating system as the root user.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/09/2023
The SCALANCE LPE9403 industrial network device represents a critical endpoint within industrial control systems that requires robust security measures to prevent unauthorized access. This device operates as a web-based management platform for industrial networking infrastructure, serving as a gateway for system administrators to configure and monitor network operations. The vulnerability resides within the device's web interface management capabilities, specifically in how it processes user input through its web-based administrative console. The affected versions prior to V2.1 demonstrate a fundamental flaw in input validation mechanisms that fails to properly sanitize or filter data submitted through web forms and API endpoints.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability stems from improper input validation that allows maliciously crafted payloads to bypass security controls within the device's web management interface. An authenticated attacker who has gained access to the device through legitimate credentials can leverage this weakness to inject arbitrary commands directly into the underlying operating system. The command injection vulnerability specifically targets the device's processing of user-supplied data that is subsequently executed without proper sanitization or context-aware escaping. This flaw enables an attacker to execute arbitrary code with the highest privileges available to the web application, which in this case corresponds to root-level access. The vulnerability's classification aligns with CWE-77 and CWE-94, representing command injection flaws that permit arbitrary code execution through insufficient input validation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as it provides attackers with complete control over the device's underlying operating system and potentially the entire industrial network segment it manages. An attacker with root access can manipulate network configurations, install malicious software, modify network traffic, or even cause denial of service conditions that could disrupt industrial operations. The authenticated nature of the attack means that attackers must first establish legitimate credentials, but this requirement does not significantly mitigate the risk since industrial environments often have limited credential rotation practices and may rely on default or weak authentication mechanisms. The vulnerability's presence in the web management interface makes it particularly dangerous as it can be exploited through standard web browsers and network reconnaissance tools without requiring specialized attack frameworks.
Organizations should prioritize immediate remediation by upgrading affected SCALANCE LPE9403 devices to version 2.1 or later, which contains the necessary input validation patches. Network segmentation and access control measures should be implemented to limit exposure of these devices to untrusted networks, while monitoring systems should be deployed to detect anomalous command execution patterns. The vulnerability's characteristics align with ATT&CK technique T1059.001 for command and scripting interpreter, demonstrating how web-based management interfaces can serve as attack vectors for executing arbitrary system commands. Additional mitigations include implementing network access controls through firewalls to restrict web management access to authorized administrative workstations only, conducting regular security assessments of industrial network devices, and establishing robust credential management policies that include regular password rotation and multi-factor authentication where possible. The broader industrial control systems security community should consider this vulnerability as indicative of insufficient security design practices in industrial network infrastructure, emphasizing the need for comprehensive security testing and validation of all management interfaces in operational technology environments.