CVE-2023-36857 in Bently Nevada 3500
Summary
by MITRE • 10/25/2023
Baker Hughes – Bently Nevada 3500 System TDI Firmware version 5.05 contains a replay vulnerability which could allow an attacker to replay older captured packets of traffic to the device to gain access.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/25/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-36857 affects the Bently Nevada 3500 System TDI firmware version 5.05 produced by Baker Hughes. This issue represents a significant security weakness that undermines the integrity of the communication protocol used by industrial control systems. The affected device operates within critical infrastructure environments where maintaining secure communication channels is paramount for operational continuity and safety. The TDI (Transmitter Data Interface) system serves as a crucial component in monitoring and controlling industrial processes, making it a potential target for adversaries seeking unauthorized access to operational technology environments.
The technical flaw manifests as a replay vulnerability that allows malicious actors to capture legitimate network traffic and subsequently replay those packets to the target device. This type of vulnerability directly violates the fundamental principles of authentication and session management within network protocols. The attacker can exploit this weakness by intercepting valid communication sequences between authorized entities and the device, then retransmitting these captured packets at a later time to impersonate legitimate users or systems. This replay attack vector operates by leveraging the absence of proper sequence number validation or timestamp verification mechanisms within the firmware's communication protocol implementation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access, as it can potentially enable attackers to manipulate critical industrial processes or gain deeper system privileges. In industrial control environments, such vulnerabilities can lead to serious consequences including process disruption, safety system compromise, or data integrity violations. The attack scenario becomes particularly concerning when considering that the affected devices typically operate in continuous monitoring modes where unauthorized modifications can have cascading effects throughout the entire system. The vulnerability essentially removes the temporal element of security verification, allowing attackers to leverage previously captured communications as valid credentials for system access.
From a cybersecurity perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-319 (Cryptographic Issues) and represents a weakness in the authentication mechanism that fails to properly validate the freshness of transmitted data. The issue also maps to ATT&CK technique T1566 (Phishing) and T1071.004 (Application Layer Protocol: DNS) when considering how attackers might initially gain network access to capture the traffic before replaying it. Organizations operating these systems should implement immediate mitigations including network segmentation to limit access to the affected devices, deployment of intrusion detection systems to monitor for anomalous packet patterns, and implementation of secure communication protocols with proper timestamp validation. The firmware update from Baker Hughes represents the primary recommended remediation approach, though organizations must also consider the operational impact of such updates on critical industrial processes.
The broader implications of this vulnerability highlight the ongoing challenges in securing industrial control systems where legacy protocols and security implementations often lack modern cryptographic protections. This weakness demonstrates the importance of proper protocol design and implementation in operational technology environments, where the consequences of security failures can extend far beyond traditional information technology concerns. Organizations must recognize that industrial systems require specialized security approaches that account for both the unique operational requirements and the critical nature of their functions. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the need for continuous security assessments and the importance of maintaining up-to-date security measures in industrial environments where system availability and safety are paramount considerations.