Advantech Spectre RT Industrial Routers

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• CVSS v3 10.0
• ATTENTION: Exploitable remotely/low skill level to exploit
• Vendor: Advantech
• Equipment: Spectre RT Industrial Routers
• Vulnerabilities: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation, Cleartext Transmission of Sensitive Information, Improper Restriction of Excessive Authentication Attempts, Use of a Broken or Risky Cryptographic Algorithm, Use of Platform-Dependent Third-party Components

2. RISK EVALUATION

Successful exploitation of these vulnerabilities may allow information disclosure, deletion of files, and remote code execution.

3. TECHNICAL DETAILS

3.1 AFFECTED PRODUCTS

The following versions of Advantech Spectre RT Industrial Routers are affected:

• Spectre RT ERT351 firmware Versions 5.1.3 and prior

3.2 VULNERABILITY OVERVIEW

3.2.1    IMPROPER NEUTRALIZATION OF INPUT DURING WEB PAGE GENERATION CWE-79

The affected product does not neutralize special characters in the error response, allowing attackers to use a reflected XSS attack.

CVE-2019-18233 has been assigned to this vulnerability. A CVSS v3 base score of 4.3 has been calculated; the CVSS vector string is (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N).

3.2.2    CLEARTEXT TRANSMISSION OF SENSITIVE INFORMATION CWE-319

Login and password are transmitted in clear text form, which may allow an attacker to intercept the request.

CVE-2019-18231 has been assigned to this vulnerability. A CVSS v3 base score of 7.5 has been calculated; the CVSS vector string is (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N).

3.2.3    IMPROPER RESTRICTION OF EXCESSIVE AUTHENTICATION ATTEMPTS CWE-307

Insufficient login authentication parameters required for the web application may allow an attacker to gain full access using a brute-force password attack.

CVE-2019-18235 has been assigned to this vulnerability. A CVSS v3 base score of 9.8 has been calculated; the CVSS vector string is (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

3.2.4    USE OF A BROKEN OR RISKY CRYPTOGRAPHIC ALGORITHM CWE-327

Outdated version of BusyBox password encryption is in use, which may allow an attacker to discover passwords.

CVE-2018-20679, CVE-2016-6301, CVE-2015-9261, and others have been assigned to this version of BusyBox. A CVSS v3 base score of 7.5 has been calculated; the CVSS vector string is (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H).

3.2.5     USE OF PLATFORM-DEPENDENT THIRD-PARTY COMPONENTS CWE-1103

Outdated version of OpenSSL is in use, which may allow an attacker to exploit known vulnerabilities in OpenSSL.

CVE-2016-2842, CVE-2016-0799, CVE-2016-6304 and others have been assigned to this version of OpenSSL. A CVSS v3 base score of 10.0 has been calculated; the CVSS vector string is (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H).

3.3 BACKGROUND

• CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE SECTORS: Critical Manufacturing, Energy, Water and Wastewater Systems
• COUNTRIES/AREAS DEPLOYED: East Asia, Europe, United States, South America, Middle East
• COMPANY HEADQUARTERS LOCATION: Taiwan

3.4 RESEARCHER

Ilya Karpov and Evgeniy Druzhinin of Rostelecom-Solar and Vlad Komarov of ScadaX reported these vulnerabilities to CISA.

4. MITIGATIONS

For additional information, please see Advantech Security Advisory SA-2021-01-01

Advantech recommends users update to Version 6.2.7 or later.

CISA recommends users take defensive measures to minimize the risk of exploitation of this vulnerability. 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 VPNs may have vulnerabilities and should be updated to the most current version available. Also recognize a VPN is only as secure as the connected devices.

CISA reminds organizations to perform proper impact analysis and risk assessment prior to deploying defensive measures.



CISA also provides a section for control systems security recommended practices on the ICS webpage on us-cert.cisa.gov. 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 on the ICS webpage on us-cert.cisa.gov in the Technical Information Paper, ICS-TIP-12-146-01B--Targeted Cyber Intrusion Detection and Mitigation Strategies.



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

No known public exploits specifically target these vulnerabilities.