CISA Advisory: HMS Networks EWON FLEXY 202

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1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• CVSS v4 7.1
• ATTENTION: Exploitable remotely/low attack complexity
• Vendor: HMS Networks
• Equipment: EWON FLEXY 202
• Vulnerability: Insufficiently Protected Credentials

2. RISK EVALUATION

Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could allow an attacker to sniff and decode credentials that are transmitted using weak encoding techniques.

3. TECHNICAL DETAILS

3.1 AFFECTED PRODUCTS

The following versions of EWON FLEXY 202, an industrial modular gateway, are affected:

• EWON FLEXY 202: Firmware Version 14.2s0

3.2 Vulnerability Overview

3.2.1 CWE-522: Insufficiently Protected Credentials

The EWON FLEXY 202 transmits credentials using a weak encoding method base64. An attacker who is present in the network can sniff the traffic and decode the credentials.

CVE-2024-7755 has been assigned to this vulnerability. A CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.2 has been calculated; the CVSS vector string is (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N).

CVE-2024-7755 has been assigned to this vulnerability. A CVSS v4 base score of 7.1 has been calculated; the CVSS vector string is (AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:P/VC:H/VI:L/VA:N/SC:H/SI:L/SA:N).

3.3 BACKGROUND

• CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE SECTORS: Water and Wastewater Systems, Energy, and Food and Agriculture
• COUNTRIES/AREAS DEPLOYED: Worldwide
• COMPANY HEADQUARTERS LOCATION: Sweden

3.4 RESEARCHER

Anurag Chevendra, Parul Sindhwad and Dr. Faruk Kazi CoE-CNDS Lab, VJTI, Mumbai, India reported this vulnerability to CISA.

4. MITIGATIONS

HMS Networks recommends users update to firmware version 14.9s2.

CISA recommends users take defensive measures to minimize the risk of exploitation of this vulnerability, such as:

• Minimize network exposure for all control system devices and/or systems, ensuring they are not accessible from the internet.
• Locate control system networks and remote devices behind firewalls and isolating them from business networks.
• When remote access is required, use more 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 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 cisa.gov/ics. Several CISA products detailing cyber defense best practices are available for reading and download, including Improving Industrial Control Systems Cybersecurity with Defense-in-Depth Strategies.

CISA encourages organizations to implement recommended cybersecurity strategies for proactive defense of ICS assets.

Additional mitigation guidance and recommended practices are publicly available on the ICS webpage at cisa.gov/ics in the technical information paper, ICS-TIP-12-146-01B–Targeted Cyber Intrusion Detection and Mitigation Strategies.

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

CISA also recommends users take the following measures to protect themselves from social engineering attacks:

No known public exploitation specifically targeting this vulnerability has been reported to CISA at this time.

5. UPDATE HISTORY

• October 17, 2024: Initial Publication