__________________________________________________________ The U.S. Department of Energy Computer Incident Advisory Capability ___ __ __ _ ___ / | /_\ / \___ __|__ / \ \___ __________________________________________________________ INFORMATION BULLETIN Cisco Default Administrative Password in Cisco Guard and Traffic Anomaly Detector [Cisco Security Advisory Document ID: 63569] December 16, 2004 18:00 GMT Number P-065 ______________________________________________________________________________ PROBLEM: The Cisco Guard and Cisco Traffic Anomaly Detector software contains a default password for an administrative account. This password is set, without any user's intervention, during installation of the software. PLATFORM: All versions of the software for the Cisco Guard and Cisco Traffic Anomaly Detector prior to version 3.1 are affected by this vulnerability. DAMAGE: An attacker that is able to log into a Cisco Guard or Cisco Traffic Anomaly Detector DDoS mitigation appliance using the root administrative account has full control of the device, which includes the ability to change configurations, divert traffic, and install software. SOLUTION: As the fix for this vulnerability is a default configuration change, and a workaround is available, a software upgrade is not required to address this vulnerability. However, if you have a service contract, and wish to upgrade to unaffected code, you may obtain upgraded software through your regular update channels once that software is available. ______________________________________________________________________________ VULNERABILITY The risk is HIGH. The attacker, using the root administrative ASSESSMENT: account has full control of the device, which includes the ability to change configurations, divert traffic, and install software. ______________________________________________________________________________ LINKS: CIAC BULLETIN: http://www.ciac.org/ciac/bulletins/p-065.shtml ORIGINAL BULLETIN: Cisco Security Advisory Document ID: 63569 http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/products_security_ advisory09186a008037d0c5.shtml ______________________________________________________________________________ [***** Start Cisco Security Advisory Document ID: 63569 *****] Cisco Security Advisory: Default Administrative Password in Cisco Guard and Traffic Anomaly Detector Document ID: 63569 Revision 1.0 For Public Release 2004 December 15 1900 UTC (GMT) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contents Summary Affected Products Details Impact Software Versions and Fixes Obtaining Fixed Software Workarounds Exploitation and Public Announcements Status of This Notice: FINAL Distribution Revision History Cisco Security Procedures -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Summary The Cisco Guard and Cisco Traffic Anomaly Detector software contains a default password for an administrative account. This password is set, without any user's intervention, during installation of the software used by the Cisco Guard and Traffic Anomaly Detector Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) mitigation appliances, and is the same in all installations of the product. Software version 3.0 and earlier of the Cisco Guard and Traffic Anomaly Detector are affected by this vulnerability. Customers running version 3.1 or higher of the software are not affected. There are workarounds available including one that does not require a reboot of the device. Cisco has made free software available to address this problem. The vulnerabilities are documented as the following Cisco bug IDs: CSCeg12167 ( registered customers only) and CSCeg12188 ( registered customers only) . This advisory is available at http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/707/cisco-sa- 20041215-guard.shtml. Affected Products Vulnerable Products All versions of the software for the Cisco Guard and Cisco Traffic Anomaly Detector prior to version 3.1 are affected by this vulnerability. There are three ways to determine the software version that your Cisco Guard and Cisco Traffic Anomaly Detector DDoS mitigation appliances are running: * Virtual terminal or local serial console connection * Remote Secure Shell (SSH) connection * Remote secure web session What follows is an example of each method; you should choose the method that applies to your particular environment and network setup. 1. To determine the software version number through the local serial console use a serial cable and a terminal emulation program to connect to the appliance. Once you are connected press the Enter key of your terminal and the Guard and Traffic Anomaly Detector will present, without even logging in, the version of the software running on the devices: Cisco Guard Version 3.1(0.12) GUARD login: In this example the Cisco Guard is running software version 3.1. For a virtual terminal the procedure is the same except that no serial cable or terminal emulation program is needed (a standard keyboard and monitor are directly connected to the appliance.) 2. To obtain the software version number through a SSH session use a SSH client to log into the Cisco Guard or Cisco Traffic Anomaly Detector and issue the show version command-line interface (CLI) command. The following example shows an interaction with a Cisco Traffic Anomaly Detector: prompt$ ssh admin@detector.example.com admin@detector.example.com's password: Last login: Wed Nov 24 22:45:53 on ttyS0 admin@DETECTOR#show version Copyright (c) 2000-2004 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Software License Agreement [...] Cisco Anomaly Detector Release: 3.1(0.12) Date: 2004/10/27 19:58:14 DETECTOR uptime is 3 weeks, 3 days, 17 hours, 53 minutes System Serial Number: XXXXXXX Contact Information: Cisco Systems Inc. riverhead-support@cisco.com admin@DETECTOR# In this example the Cisco Traffic Anomaly Detector is running software version 3.1. 3. To obtain the software version that Cisco Guard and Cisco Traffic Anomaly Detector are running through a secure web interface, open the URL https:/// in a web browser, log in, and then click on the About link located on the top right section of the browser window. Products Confirmed Not Vulnerable No other Cisco products are currently known to create these specific default account/passwords. Details The Cisco Guard and Cisco Traffic Anomaly Detectors are Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack mitigation appliances that detect the presence of a potential DDoS attack and divert attack traffic destined for the network being monitored without affecting the flow of legitimate traffic. Both the Cisco Guard and the Cisco Anomaly Traffic Detector appliances can be managed via a virtual terminal (standard keyboard and monitor attached directly to the appliance), a local serial console, remote SSH connections, and/or remote secure web sessions. Most management and troubleshooting tasks are performed through a CLI interface that is similar to that of most Cisco products, but a special administrative account is provided so certain management and troubleshooting tasks that are not covered by the standard CLI can be performed. The administrative account username is root, like the superuser in the Unix operating system. This account has a default password that is the same in all installations of the Cisco Guard and Cisco Traffic Anomaly Detector in all versions prior to 3.1. This default password is made up of a combination of letters, numbers, and punctuation per best security practices for passwords, but Cisco recommends that this password be changed for extra security. The vulnerability described here is documented in the Cisco Bug ID CSCeg12167 (registered customers only) for the Cisco Guard and in the Cisco Bug ID CSCeg12188 (registered customers only) for the Cisco Traffic Anomaly Detector. Impact Someone that is able to log into a Cisco Guard or Cisco Traffic Anomaly Detector DDoS mitigation appliance using the root administrative account has full control of the device, which includes the ability to change configurations, divert traffic, and install software. Software Versions and Fixes While workarounds that do not require a software upgrade exist, Cisco has made available free software that addresses the vulnerability described in this document. Version 3.1 or later of the Cisco Guard and Cisco Traffic Anomaly Detector software does not leave a default password for the administrative root account after a fresh installation or after an upgrade from previous versions. This is because in version 3.1 and later the installation/upgrade procedure requires the user to choose a password for the administrative account. Note: the procedure to upgrade to version 3.1 can only be done through the out-of-band interfaces. When considering software upgrades, please also consult http://www.cisco.com/en /US/products/products_security_advisories_listing.html and any subsequent advisories to determine exposure and a complete upgrade solution. In all cases, customers should exercise caution to be certain the devices to be upgraded contain sufficient memory and that current hardware and software configurations will continue to be supported properly by the new release. If the information is not clear, contact the Cisco Technical Assistance Center ("TAC") for assistance. If affected customers are not able to upgrade the software, the workarounds presented in the Workarounds section can be employed to completely eliminate this vulnerability. Obtaining Fixed Software As the fix for this vulnerability is a default configuration change, and a workaround is available, a software upgrade is not required to address this vulnerability. However, if you have a service contract, and wish to upgrade to unaffected code, you may obtain upgraded software through your regular update channels once that software is available. For most customers, this means that upgrades should be obtained through the Software Center on Cisco's Worldwide Web site at http://www.cisco.com. If you need assistance with the implementation of the workarounds, or have questions on the workarounds, please contact the Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC). * +1 800 553 2447 (toll free from within North America) * +1 408 526 7209 (toll call from anywhere in the world) * e-mail: tac@cisco.com See http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/687/Directory/DirTAC.shtml for additional TAC contact information, including special localized telephone numbers and instructions and e-mail addresses for use in various languages. Customers may only install and expect support for the feature sets they have purchased. By installing, downloading, accessing or otherwise using such software upgrades, customers agree to be bound by the terms of Cisco's software license terms found at http://www.cisco.com/public/sw-license-agreement.html, or as otherwise set forth at Cisco.com Downloads at http://www.cisco.com/public /sw-center/sw-usingswc.shtml. Workarounds The vulnerability described in this document can be eliminated completely by logging into the affected Cisco Guard and Cisco Traffic Anomaly Detector DDoS mitigation appliances and changing the default password for the administrative root account to a strong password chosen by the user. To change the default password you need to run the passwd command once you have logged in as the root user. The following interaction shows and example of a change password dialog in a Cisco Traffic Anomaly Detector that is performed via SSH: prompt$ ssh root@detector.example.com root@detector.example.com's password: Last login: Tue Nov 23 15:48:13 on ttyS0 [root@DETECTOR root]# passwd Changing password for user root. New password: Retype new password: passwd: all authentication tokens updated successfully. In order to perform this procedure you will need the default password. To obtain this password customers must contact the Cisco TAC. Entitlement will be checked so please have your product serial number available and give the URL of this notice. After changing the default password, the Cisco Guard and Traffic Anomaly Detector will not accept root logins using the default password. A reboot is not required for the new password to take effect, so network operations will not be disrupted. If affected customers do not wish to contact Cisco to obtain the default password, it is possible to change the administrative account's password by performing the password recovery procedure. This procedure is documented at the following location: http://cisco.com/en/US/products/ps5887/products_password_recovery09186a008037942b. shtml As a security best practice, it is recommended that customers make use of the access control feature that restricts connectivity to the SSH and web-based management services to certain IP networks configured by the administrator. Refer to the documentation for your Cisco Guard and Cisco Traffic Anomaly Detector, specifically the permit wbm and permit ssh commands, for details on how to enable this feature. Having these access control mechanisms in place may mitigate the vulnerability if it cannot be eliminated completely by changing the default password as described above. Exploitation and Public Announcements The Cisco PSIRT is not aware of any public announcements or malicious use of the vulnerability described in this advisory. This vulnerability was uncovered during internal code audit. Status of This Notice: FINAL THIS ADVISORY IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS AND DOES NOT IMPLY ANY KIND OF GUARANTEE OR WARRANTY. YOUR USE OF THE INFORMATION ON THE ADVISORY OR MATERIALS LINKED FROM THE ADVISORY IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. CISCO RESERVES THE RIGHT TO CHANGE OR UPDATE THIS NOTICE AT ANY TIME. Distribution This advisory will be posted on Cisco's worldwide website at http://www.cisco.com /warp/public/707/cisco-sa-20041215-guard.shtml. In addition to worldwide web posting, a text version of this notice is clear- signed with the Cisco PSIRT PGP key and is posted to the following e-mail and Usenet news recipients: * cust-security-announce@cisco.com * first-teams@first.org (includes CERT/CC) * bugtraq@securityfocus.com * vulnwatch@vulnwatch.org * cisco@spot.colorado.edu * cisco-nsp@puck.nether.net * full-disclosure@lists.netsys.com * comp.dcom.sys.cisco@newsgate.cisco.com Future updates of this advisory, if any, will be placed on Cisco's worldwide website, but may or may not be actively announced on mailing lists or newsgroups. Users concerned about this problem are encouraged to check the above URL for any updates. Revision History Revision 1.0 2004-December-15 Initial public release. Cisco Security Procedures Complete information on reporting security vulnerabilities in Cisco products, obtaining assistance with security incidents, and registering to receive security information from Cisco, is available on Cisco's worldwide website at http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/products_security_vulnerability_policy.html. This includes instructions for press inquiries regarding Cisco security notices. All Cisco security advisories are available at http://www.cisco.com/go/psirt. [***** End Cisco Security Advisory Document ID: 63569 *****] _______________________________________________________________________________ CIAC wishes to acknowledge the contributions of Cisco for the information contained in this bulletin. _______________________________________________________________________________ CIAC, the Computer Incident Advisory Capability, is the computer security incident response team for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the emergency backup response team for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). CIAC is located at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California. CIAC is also a founding member of FIRST, the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams, a global organization established to foster cooperation and coordination among computer security teams worldwide. CIAC services are available to DOE, DOE contractors, and the NIH. CIAC can be contacted at: Voice: +1 925-422-8193 (7x24) FAX: +1 925-423-8002 STU-III: +1 925-423-2604 E-mail: ciac@ciac.org Previous CIAC notices, anti-virus software, and other information are available from the CIAC Computer Security Archive. World Wide Web: http://www.ciac.org/ Anonymous FTP: ftp.ciac.org PLEASE NOTE: Many users outside of the DOE, ESnet, and NIH computing communities receive CIAC bulletins. If you are not part of these communities, please contact your agency's response team to report incidents. Your agency's team will coordinate with CIAC. The Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST) is a world-wide organization. A list of FIRST member organizations and their constituencies can be obtained via WWW at http://www.first.org/. This document was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor the University of California nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial products, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation or favoring by the United States Government or the University of California. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or the University of California, and shall not be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes. LAST 10 CIAC BULLETINS ISSUED (Previous bulletins available from CIAC) P-055: Microsoft WordPad Vulnerability P-056: Microsoft HyperTerminal Vulnerability P-057: Microsoft Windows Kernel and LSASS Vulnerabilities P-058: Sun Java System Web and Application Server Security Vulnerability P-059: Sendmail(1) Security Vulnerability P-060: Cisco Unity with Exchange Default Passwords Vulnerability P-061: Ethereal Multiple Vulnerabilities P-062: Updated ncompress Package Fix Security Issue and Bug P-063: Adobe Reader Security Vulnerabilities P-064: Adobe Reader 5.0.9 for UNIX "mailListIsPdf" function Vulnerability