Adminer in Industrial Products

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• CVSS v3 7.5
• ATTENTION: Exploitable remotely/low attack complexity/public exploits are available
• Vendor: Adminer
• Equipment: Adminer
• Vulnerability: Files or Directories Accessible to External Parties

2. RISK EVALUATION

Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could allow reading of database credentials and loss of sensitive information.

3. TECHNICAL DETAILS

3.1 AFFECTED PRODUCTS

The following versions of Adminer, a database management tool, are affected:

• Adminer: Versions 1.112.0 to 4.6.2

3.2 VULNERABILITY OVERVIEW

3.2.1    FILES AND DIRECTORIES ACCESSIBLE TO EXTERNAL PARTIES CWE-552

The affected product is vulnerable to a MySQL database issue that allows an attacker to read database files. This may allow an attacker to read database credentials and steal data. 

CVE-2021-43008 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).

3.3 BACKGROUND

• CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE SECTORS: Multiple Sectors
• COUNTRIES/AREAS DEPLOYED: Worldwide
• COMPANY HEADQUARTERS LOCATION: Czech Republic

3.4 RESEARCHER

Mosin from ELEX FEIGONG RESEARCH INSTITUTE of Elex CyberSecurity, Inc., reported this vulnerability to CISA.

4. MITIGATIONS

Adminer has fixed this vulnerability and recommends users upgrade to Version 4.6.3 or later.

See the following links for more information and mitigations on ICS devices that use Adminer:

• Advantech R-SeeNet (Windows Installation of R-SeeNet is only affected, upgrade to Version 2.4.19 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 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 VPN is only as secure as its 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 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 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.