CVE-2026-5769 in SANnav
Summary
by MITRE • 10/08/2026
A vulnerability in Brocade SANnav before 3.0.1 can have the Brocade Fabric OS switch admin password captured in plaintext within a memory swap file on the server hosting the Brocade SANnav Virtual Machine (VM). This can happen when the SANnav server encounters an Out Of Memory (OOM) condition. The vulnerability could allow an authenticated admin user with access to the server hosting the SANnav to potentially view the memory swap file and access the password(s).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/08/2026
The identified security flaw resides within Brocade SANnav versions prior to 3.0.1, specifically affecting the operational integrity of the application when it interacts with the underlying operating system's memory management subsystems. The core technical deficiency involves the improper handling of sensitive credentials during high-load scenarios that trigger an Out Of Memory condition on the server hosting the Brocade SANnav Virtual Machine. Under normal circumstances, applications should manage sensitive data such as administrative passwords in a manner that prevents their persistence to disk or swap space in plaintext form. However, when the system experiences memory pressure and initiates swapping of application memory pages to secondary storage, the Fabric OS switch administrator password is inadvertently written to the server's swap file without encryption or obfuscation. This behavior indicates a failure to implement secure coding practices regarding sensitive data lifecycle management, particularly during state serialization or paging operations where temporary files are generated by the operating system kernel to maintain application continuity despite physical RAM exhaustion.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability creates a significant risk vector for unauthorized access and privilege escalation within the storage area network environment. An attacker who has gained authenticated administrative access to the host server running the SANnav VM can exploit this condition by inducing memory pressure or simply inspecting existing swap files if they are accessible due to misconfigured file system permissions. By locating and reading these plaintext swap files, the adversary can extract the Fabric OS switch administrator passwords in clear text. This compromises the confidentiality of critical infrastructure credentials, allowing the attacker to bypass authentication mechanisms on the Brocade switches themselves. Since Fabric OS controls physical storage connectivity and zoning configurations, possession of these administrative credentials enables the attacker to reconfigure network paths, intercept data traffic, or disrupt service availability, thereby undermining the integrity and availability of the entire SAN fabric.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-312, which describes Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information, as it involves storing sensitive authentication material in a format that is directly readable without decryption. Furthermore, the exploitation path relates to CWE-798, Use of Hard-coded Credentials, if the swap file contains default or previously used credentials, and more broadly to CWE-264, Permissions Issue, which allows an authenticated user with server-level access to read files they should not be able to view. In terms of the MITRE ATT&CK framework, this scenario maps to T1003, OS Credential Dumping, specifically techniques involving memory or swap file extraction such as LSASS Memory dumping in Windows contexts or equivalent Linux mechanisms like accessing /proc/kcore or swap partitions. It also reflects aspects of T1528, Steal Application Access Token, although here the focus is on credential harvesting from disk-based artifacts rather than live process injection.
To mitigate this vulnerability and reduce the risk profile associated with memory swapping in production environments, organizations should immediately upgrade Brocade SANnav to version 3.0.1 or later where these issues have been addressed by the vendor through improved handling of sensitive data during OOM events. Additionally, administrators must enforce strict file system permissions on the host server hosting the SANnav VM to ensure that swap files and temporary directories are not accessible to standard administrative users who do not require root-level privileges for their daily tasks. Implementing memory encryption or utilizing secure enclaves where supported can further protect sensitive data in transit within RAM, although this is often dependent on hardware capabilities. Regular auditing of system logs and monitoring for Out Of Memory events should also be implemented to detect potential exploitation attempts or resource exhaustion attacks that could trigger the vulnerability conditions.