CVE-2024-8455 in GS-4210-24PL4C Hardware 2.0
Summary
by MITRE • 09/30/2024
The swctrl service is used to detect and remotely manage PLANET Technology devices. For certain switch models, the authentication tokens used during communication with this service are encoded user passwords. Due to insufficient strength, unauthorized remote attackers who intercept the packets can directly crack them to obtain plaintext passwords.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/05/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-8455 affects the swctrl service utilized for detecting and remotely managing PLANET Technology devices, particularly impacting specific switch models within their product lineup. This security flaw represents a critical weakness in the authentication mechanism that governs remote device management operations. The swctrl service operates as a communication protocol interface that enables administrators to monitor and control network switches from remote locations, making it a prime target for malicious actors seeking unauthorized access to network infrastructure. The vulnerability stems from the service's implementation of authentication tokens that are directly derived from user passwords through encoding mechanisms rather than employing robust cryptographic methods for token generation.
The technical flaw manifests in the insufficient entropy and cryptographic strength of the authentication tokens generated by the swctrl service. When users establish remote connections to PLANET switches through this service, their credentials are processed through a weak encoding algorithm that produces tokens which retain direct correlations with the original passwords. This design flaw violates fundamental security principles outlined in cwe-310, which addresses cryptographic issues and weak encryption practices. The encoding process does not employ proper salting mechanisms or sufficiently complex cryptographic functions, allowing attackers to reverse-engineer the token structure and extract the underlying password information. This weakness is particularly concerning as it directly compromises the confidentiality of authentication credentials used for network device management.
The operational impact of CVE-2024-8455 extends beyond simple credential theft to encompass significant network security risks that can lead to complete system compromise. Unauthorized remote attackers who intercept network traffic containing these encoded tokens can employ password cracking techniques to recover plaintext passwords within reasonable timeframes due to the weak cryptographic foundation. This vulnerability enables attackers to gain unauthorized access to network switches, potentially leading to man-in-the-middle attacks, network disruption, and lateral movement within the affected network infrastructure. The attack surface is particularly broad as it affects multiple switch models from PLANET Technology, creating widespread exposure across various network environments that rely on these devices for network management. According to att&ck technique t1071.001, this vulnerability facilitates network protocol manipulation and can be leveraged for initial access and privilege escalation within networked environments.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2024-8455 should focus on immediate implementation of stronger authentication mechanisms and network monitoring protocols. Organizations should prioritize updating affected PLANET switch models to versions that implement robust cryptographic token generation using industry-standard algorithms such as bcrypt, scrypt, or pbkdf2 with appropriate iteration counts. Network administrators must implement traffic encryption protocols including tls 1.3 and ipsec to prevent interception of authentication tokens during transmission. The implementation of network segmentation and access control lists can limit the potential damage from successful attacks by restricting lateral movement within the network. Additionally, regular security audits should verify that authentication tokens are properly generated using strong cryptographic methods and that no legacy systems continue to utilize vulnerable encoding mechanisms. Organizations should also establish network monitoring procedures to detect anomalous traffic patterns that may indicate interception attempts or credential compromise activities, as outlined in the mitre att&ck framework's detection methodologies for credential access techniques.