CVE-2017-14375
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability allows attackers to bypass authentication mechanisms in multiple EMC storage management products. Malicious users can potentially gain unauthorized access to affected systems without valid credentials. Organizations using vulnerable versions of EMC Unisphere for VMAX, Solutions Enabler, VASA Virtual Appliances, or VMAX Embedded Management are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- EMC Unisphere for VMAX Virtual Appliance
- EMC Solutions Enabler Virtual Appliance
- EMC VASA Virtual Appliance
- EMC VMAX Embedded Management (eManagement)
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete system compromise allowing attackers to gain administrative control over storage management systems, potentially leading to data theft, manipulation, or destruction of critical storage infrastructure.
Likely Case
Unauthorized access to storage management interfaces allowing configuration changes, data access, or disruption of storage operations.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if systems are isolated behind firewalls with strict network access controls and monitored for suspicious authentication attempts.
🎯 Exploit Status
Authentication bypass vulnerabilities typically have low exploitation complexity. While no public PoC is referenced, the high CVSS score and authentication bypass nature make weaponization likely.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Unisphere/Solutions Enabler: 8.4.0.15 or later; VASA: 8.4.0.512 or later; eManagement: versions after 1.4
Vendor Advisory: http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2017/Oct/70
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Download the appropriate patch from EMC support portal. 2. Backup current configuration. 3. Apply the patch following vendor instructions. 4. Restart the appliance/service. 5. Verify authentication is working correctly.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Network Isolation
allRestrict network access to management interfaces using firewall rules
Access Control Lists
allImplement strict IP-based access controls to limit which systems can connect to management interfaces
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Isolate affected systems from untrusted networks and implement strict network segmentation
- Implement additional authentication layers (VPN, jump hosts) and monitor for unauthorized access attempts
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check the appliance version via web interface or SSH. Compare against affected version ranges.Check Version:
Check via web interface or SSH to appliance and run version check command specific to each productVerify Fix Applied:
Verify version is patched and test authentication with invalid credentials to ensure proper rejection.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Failed authentication attempts followed by successful access from same IP
- Authentication bypass patterns in web server logs
- Unusual administrative actions from new/unexpected IP addresses
Network Indicators:
- Direct connections to management ports from unauthorized IP ranges
- Authentication requests with malformed or missing credentials
SIEM Query:
source="vmax-appliance" AND (event_type="auth_failure" OR event_type="auth_success") | stats count by src_ip, event_type | where count(event_type="auth_failure") > 0 AND count(event_type="auth_success") > 0