CVE-2023-3271 in ICR890-4
Summary
by MITRE • 07/10/2023
Improper Access Control in the SICK ICR890-4 could allow an unauthenticated remote attacker to gather information about the system and download data via the REST API by accessing unauthenticated endpoints.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/27/2023
The CVE-2023-3271 vulnerability affects the SICK ICR890-4 industrial imaging device, representing a critical improper access control flaw that undermines the security posture of industrial control systems. This vulnerability resides within the device's REST API implementation and allows unauthenticated remote attackers to exploit unprotected endpoints that should require proper authentication and authorization. The affected device operates in industrial environments where security is paramount, making this vulnerability particularly concerning for operational technology infrastructure. The vulnerability stems from insufficient access control mechanisms that fail to properly validate user credentials or session tokens before granting access to sensitive system information and data download capabilities. This weakness directly violates the principle of least privilege and demonstrates a fundamental failure in the device's security architecture.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through the manipulation of the REST API interface where attackers can directly access endpoints that are intended to be protected. These unauthenticated endpoints provide access to system information and data download functionalities, enabling attackers to gather intelligence about the device configuration, firmware version, network settings, and potentially sensitive operational data. The vulnerability allows for information disclosure that can be leveraged by threat actors to plan more sophisticated attacks against the industrial environment. This type of flaw commonly maps to CWE-284 which describes improper access control in software systems, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1082 for system information discovery and T1046 for network service scanning. The REST API endpoints likely lack proper authentication checks, authorization validation, or session management controls that would normally prevent unauthorized access to sensitive resources.
The operational impact of CVE-2023-3271 extends beyond simple information disclosure to potentially enable more serious attacks within industrial environments. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability can gain insights into the device's operational parameters, which may reveal network topology, device configurations, and operational patterns that could be used for lateral movement or targeted attacks against other connected systems. The ability to download data from the device creates additional risks for industrial control systems where operational data often contains sensitive process information or proprietary operational parameters. This vulnerability particularly impacts environments where the ICR890-4 device is part of a larger industrial network infrastructure, as it could serve as a foothold for attackers to escalate privileges or discover other vulnerable devices within the operational technology ecosystem. The vulnerability affects the confidentiality and integrity aspects of the CIA triad, potentially leading to operational disruptions or unauthorized access to critical industrial processes.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigations including network segmentation to isolate affected devices from critical industrial networks, disabling unnecessary REST API endpoints when not required for operations, and implementing proper access controls through network access control lists or firewall rules. Device firmware updates from SICK should be applied as soon as available to address the root cause of the vulnerability. Network monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual access patterns to REST API endpoints, and regular security assessments should be conducted to identify similar access control flaws in other industrial devices. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of applying defense-in-depth principles to industrial control systems and highlights the need for comprehensive security testing of all network interfaces in operational technology environments. Security teams should also consider implementing intrusion detection systems specifically configured to monitor for access attempts to unauthenticated API endpoints, as this represents a common attack vector in industrial environments where devices may be exposed to external networks without proper security controls.