CVE-2015-6412
📋 TL;DR
CVE-2015-6412 is a critical vulnerability in Cisco Modular Encoding Platform D9036 software where hardcoded root and guest passwords allow remote attackers to gain unauthorized access via SSH. This affects all organizations running vulnerable versions of this Cisco video encoding platform. Attackers can completely compromise affected systems with administrative privileges.
💻 Affected Systems
- Cisco Modular Encoding Platform D9036
📦 What is this software?
Modular Encoding Platform D9036 Software by Cisco
View all CVEs affecting Modular Encoding Platform D9036 Software →
Modular Encoding Platform D9036 Software by Cisco
View all CVEs affecting Modular Encoding Platform D9036 Software →
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete system takeover with root access, allowing attackers to modify configurations, install malware, exfiltrate data, or use the system as a pivot point into the network.
Likely Case
Unauthorized administrative access leading to system compromise, configuration changes, and potential data theft from the encoding platform.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if SSH access is blocked at network boundaries or if systems are isolated in secure segments.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires only SSH access and knowledge of the hardcoded credentials, making this trivial to exploit.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 02.04.70 or later
Vendor Advisory: http://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20160120-d9036
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Download software version 02.04.70 or later from Cisco. 2. Follow Cisco's upgrade procedures for the D9036 platform. 3. Reboot the system after upgrade. 4. Change all passwords after upgrade.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable SSH Access
allBlock SSH access at network level to prevent exploitation
Configure firewall/ACL to block SSH (TCP port 22) to affected systems
Network Segmentation
allIsolate affected systems in separate network segments
Implement VLAN segmentation and strict access controls
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict network access controls to limit SSH access to trusted IPs only
- Monitor SSH authentication logs for attempts using hardcoded credentials
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check software version via CLI: 'show version' and verify if version is below 02.04.70Check Version:
show versionVerify Fix Applied:
After upgrade, verify version is 02.04.70 or higher and test that hardcoded credentials no longer work📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Failed SSH login attempts followed by successful login with hardcoded credentials
- SSH sessions from unexpected sources
Network Indicators:
- SSH connections to port 22 from unauthorized sources
- Unusual outbound traffic from affected systems
SIEM Query:
source="ssh.log" AND (user="root" OR user="guest") AND action="accepted"