CVE-2023-44296 in Mobility E-Lab Navigator
Summary
by MITRE • 11/16/2023
Dell ELab-Navigator, version 3.1.9 contains a hard-coded credential vulnerability. A local attacker could potentially exploit this vulnerability, leading to unauthorized access to sensitive data. Successful exploitation may result in the compromise of confidential user information.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/01/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-44296 affects Dell ELab-Navigator version 3.1.9 and represents a critical security flaw involving hard-coded credentials within the software implementation. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-798 category, which specifically addresses the use of hard-coded credentials in software applications. The presence of hardcoded authentication tokens, passwords, or keys within the application code creates a persistent security risk that remains unchanged regardless of system updates or user management changes. The vulnerability exists at the application level within the ELab-Navigator software, which is designed for laboratory environment management and data handling, making it particularly concerning for organizations handling sensitive research data.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through local attacker vectors that can leverage the predetermined credentials to gain unauthorized access to the system. Attackers who can execute code on the local machine or have physical access to the system can utilize these hard-coded credentials to bypass normal authentication mechanisms and directly access the application's functionality. This creates a privilege escalation scenario where attackers can potentially access confidential user information, laboratory data, and other sensitive resources that should only be accessible to authorized personnel. The impact extends beyond simple unauthorized access as the compromised credentials may provide access to underlying system resources, database connections, or administrative functions within the ELab-Navigator environment.
From an operational standpoint, the exploitation of this vulnerability can lead to significant data compromise and potential regulatory violations for organizations using Dell ELab-Navigator. The vulnerability affects the integrity and confidentiality of laboratory data, potentially exposing proprietary research findings, personal information of laboratory personnel, or other sensitive datasets. Organizations may face compliance issues with data protection regulations such as gdpr, hipaa, or other industry-specific standards when such vulnerabilities exist within their systems. The local nature of the attack vector means that organizations must consider both physical security measures and network security controls to prevent unauthorized access to systems where this software is installed. The vulnerability can be particularly damaging in research environments where intellectual property protection and data confidentiality are paramount.
Security mitigations for this vulnerability should focus on immediate remediation through software updates provided by Dell, as the hard-coded credentials represent a fundamental flaw in the application's design that requires code-level fixes. Organizations should implement comprehensive inventory management to identify all instances of the affected software version and prioritize immediate patching operations. Network segmentation and access controls should be implemented to limit the attack surface, while monitoring systems should be deployed to detect unauthorized access attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of secure coding practices and regular security assessments during software development, aligning with the ATT&CK framework's mitigation strategies for credential access and privilege escalation techniques. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing automated tools to scan for hardcoded credentials in their code repositories and applications as part of their overall security posture improvement initiatives.