Cobham thraneLINK improper verification of firmware updates vulnerability

Overview

Cobham’s thraneLINK protocol does not verify cryptographic signatures for firmware updates before installing them. This may allow an attacker to deploy a malicious firmware update to the device.

Description

CWE-347: Improper Verification of Cryptographic Signature

IOActive reports that Cobham’s thraneLINK protocol does not verify cryptographic signatures for firmware updates before installing them. A remote unauthenticated attacker may use the SLPFindSrvs protocol function to discover thraneLINK devices on the network then send a crafted SNMP request to have the device download a firmware update from a TFTP server under the control of the attacker.

The vendor Cobham has provided the following statement:
_Cobham SATCOM has found that potential exploitation of the vulnerabilities presented requires either physical access to the equipment or connectivity to the maintenance part of the network, which also requires a physical presence at the terminal. _

Specifically, in the aeronautical and maritime world, there are very strict requirements for equipment installation and physical access to the equipment is restricted to authorized personnel.

_All Cobham network devices are part of a network with a very specific network topology. Equipment and network devices are segregated into clear network segments with different access levels. _

Maintenance of Cobham network devices is usually carried out by equipment that is physically connected to the network device itself (maintenance port) or connected to an Ethernet switch within a protected network segment. From a network security perspective, Cobham devices can therefore only be subject to attacks if the attacker has either physical access to the device or segment or the network has been installed incorrectly.

Cobham SATCOM will continue to evaluate any potential vulnerabilities with its equipment and implement increased security measures if required.

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Impact

A remote unauthenticated attacker may be able to deploy a malicious firmware image to a thraneLINK device and execute arbitrary code.

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Solution

We are currently unaware of a practical solution to this problem. Please consider the following workaround.

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Restrict Access

Enable firewall rules that restrict TFTP access to only trusted sources for thraneLINK devices. To stop an attacker from discovering thraneLINK devices, block broadcast requests for UDP port 427 to thraneLINK devices from untrusted sources.

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Vendor Information

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Cobham plc Affected

Notified: January 14, 2014 Updated: July 28, 2014

Status

Affected

Vendor Statement

We have not received a statement from the vendor.

Vendor Information

We are not aware of further vendor information regarding this vulnerability.

Cobham plc __ Affected

Notified: January 14, 2014 Updated: August 05, 2014

Status

Affected

Vendor Statement

Cobham SATCOM has found that potential exploitation of the vulnerabilities presented requires either physical access to the equipment or connectivity to the maintenance part of the network, which also requires a physical presence at the terminal.

Specifically, in the aeronautical and maritime world, there are very strict requirements for equipment installation and physical access to the equipment is restricted to authorized personnel.

All Cobham network devices are part of a network with a very specific network topology. Equipment and network devices are segregated into clear network segments with different access levels.

Maintenance of Cobham network devices is usually carried out by equipment that is physically connected to the network device itself (maintenance port) or connected to an Ethernet switch within a protected network segment. From a network security perspective, Cobham devices can therefore only be subject to attacks if the attacker has either physical access to the device or segment or the network has been installed incorrectly.

Cobham SATCOM will continue to evaluate any potential vulnerabilities with its equipment and implement increased security measures if required.

Vendor Information

We are not aware of further vendor information regarding this vulnerability.

CVSS Metrics

Group	Score	Vector
Base	9.3	AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
Temporal	6.8	E:U/RL:W/RC:UC
Environmental	5.1	CDP:ND/TD:M/CR:ND/IR:ND/AR:ND

References

• <http://thrane.sailor6000series.com/&gt;
• http://esupport.thrane.com/index.php?_m=downloads&_a=downloadfile&downloaditemid=2130
• <http://www.cobham.com/media/960477/sailor_6000_series_brochure.pdf&gt;
• <http://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/347.html&gt;

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Ruben Santamarta for reporting this vulnerability.

This document was written by Chris King.

Other Information

CVE IDs:	CVE-2014-0328
Date Public:	2014-08-07 Date First Published: