ICS Advisory

Sierra Wireless ACEmanager Information Exposure Vulnerability

Last Revised
Alert Code
ICSA-16-105-01

OVERVIEW

Independent researcher Maxim Rupp has identified an exposure of sensitive information vulnerability in the Sierra Wireless ACEmanager application. Sierra Wireless has produced a new version to mitigate this vulnerability.

This vulnerability could be exploited remotely.

AFFECTED PRODUCTS

The following Sierra Wireless versions are affected:

  • LS300 running ALEOS 4.4.2 and earlier,
  • GX400 running ALEOS 4.4.2 and earlier,
  • GX440 running ALEOS 4.4.2 and earlier,
  • ES440 running ALEOS 4.4.2 and earlier,
  • GX450 running ALEOS 4.4.2 and earlier, and
  • ES450 running ALEOS 4.4.2 and earlier.

IMPACT

Sierra Wireless has outlined the threat associated with attackers having access to the filteredlogs.txt file. Because of the diagnostic nature of such files, an attacker may be able to learn operational characteristics of the gateway, e.g., the sequence of operations at boot time.

Impact to individual organizations depends on many factors that are unique to each organization. NCCIC/ICS-CERT recommends that organizations evaluate the impact of this vulnerability based on their operational environment, architecture, and product implementation.

BACKGROUND

Sierra Wireless is a Canadian-based company that maintains offices in several countries around the world, including the United States, France, and China.

The affected product, Sierra Wireless ACEmanager, is a gateway that provides connectivity to industrial, enterprise, and transportation organizations around the world. According to Sierra Wireless, ACEmanager is deployed across several sectors including Commercial Facilities, Critical Manufacturing, Energy, Water and Wastewater Systems, and others. Sierra Wireless estimates that these products are used primarily in Canada, the United States, and Europe.

VULNERABILITY CHARACTERIZATION

VULNERABILITY OVERVIEW

FILE AND DIRECTORY INFORMATION EXPOSURECWE-538: File and Directory Information Exposure, http://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/538.html, web site last accessed April 14, 2016.

The file filteredlogs.txt is available without authorization. No sensitive information is written to the accessible log file, although because of the diagnostic nature of such files an attacker may be able to learn operational characteristics of the device, e.g., the sequence of operations at boot time. The accessible log file only persists until the next log view operation or until the device reboots.

CVE-2015-6479NVD, http://web.nvd.nist.gov/view/vuln/detail?vulnId=CVE-2015-6479 , NIST uses this advisory to create the CVE web site report. This web site will be active sometime after publication of this advisory. has been assigned to this vulnerability. A CVSS v3 base score of 4.3 has been assigned; the CVSS vector string is (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N).CVSS Calculator, https://www.first.org/cvss/calculator/3.0#CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N, web site last accessed April 14, 2016.

VULNERABILITY DETAILS

EXPLOITABILITY

This vulnerability could be exploited remotely.

EXISTENCE OF EXPLOIT

No known public exploits specifically target this vulnerability.

DIFFICULTY

An attacker with a low skill would be able to exploit this vulnerability.

MITIGATION

Sierra Wireless has produced a new version to mitigate this vulnerability. This update can be downloaded at:

http://source.sierrawireless.com/resources/airlink/software_downloads/updating-form-older-version-aleos/

ICS-CERT recommends that users take defensive measures to minimize the risk of exploitation of these vulnerabilities. Specifically, users should:

  • Minimize network exposure for all control system devices and/or systems, and ensure that they are not accessible from the Internet.
  • Locate control system networks and remote devices behind firewalls, and isolate them from the business network.
  • When remote access is required, use secure methods, such as Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), recognizing that VPNs may have vulnerabilities and should be updated to the most current version available. Also recognize that VPN is only as secure as the connected devices.

ICS-CERT reminds organizations to perform proper impact analysis and risk assessment prior to deploying defensive measures.

ICS-CERT also provides a section for control systems security recommended practices on the ICS-CERT web page at: http://ics-cert.us-cert.gov/content/recommended-practices. Several recommended practices are available for reading and download, including Improving Industrial Control Systems Cybersecurity with Defense-in-Depth Strategies.

Additional mitigation guidance and recommended practices are publicly available in the ICS‑CERT Technical Information Paper, ICS-TIP-12-146-01B--Targeted Cyber Intrusion Detection and Mitigation Strategies, that is available for download from the ICS-CERT web site (http://ics-cert.us-cert.gov/).

Organizations observing any suspected malicious activity should follow their established internal procedures and report their findings to ICS-CERT for tracking and correlation against other incidents.

This product is provided subject to this Notification and this Privacy & Use policy.

Vendor

Sierra Wireless