CVE-2018-1237
📋 TL;DR
Dell EMC ScaleIO Light Installation Agent (LIA) versions before 2.5 allow unlimited authentication attempts, enabling brute force attacks on user credentials. This affects all ScaleIO clusters where LIA is deployed on servers. Remote attackers with network access to LIA can guess usernames and passwords to gain unauthorized access.
💻 Affected Systems
- Dell EMC ScaleIO
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Full compromise of ScaleIO cluster management, allowing attacker to reconfigure storage infrastructure, access sensitive data, or disrupt operations.
Likely Case
Unauthorized access to LIA management interface leading to configuration changes, data exposure, or privilege escalation within the ScaleIO environment.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if network segmentation restricts LIA access and strong credentials are enforced, though vulnerability remains present.
🎯 Exploit Status
Simple brute force attack requiring only network access to LIA service port (default 443). No special tools needed beyond standard password guessing utilities.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: ScaleIO version 2.5 or later
Vendor Advisory: http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2018/Mar/59
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Upgrade ScaleIO to version 2.5 or later. 2. Apply update to all nodes in cluster. 3. Restart LIA services on all servers. 4. Verify authentication rate limiting is enabled.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Network Segmentation
linuxRestrict network access to LIA service ports (default 443) to only trusted management systems.
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 443 -s trusted_ip -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 443 -j DROP
Strong Credential Enforcement
allImplement complex passwords and account lockout policies via external authentication systems.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict network ACLs to limit LIA access to specific management IP addresses only.
- Deploy intrusion prevention systems (IPS) to detect and block brute force attempts against LIA.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check ScaleIO version: 'scli --query_all' and verify if version is below 2.5. Test authentication attempts to LIA port 443 to see if unlimited retries are allowed.Check Version:
scli --query_all | grep 'Product version'Verify Fix Applied:
After upgrade to 2.5+, verify version with 'scli --query_all' shows 2.5 or higher. Test authentication attempts - should see rate limiting after multiple failed attempts.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Multiple failed authentication attempts from single source IP in LIA logs
- Unusual authentication patterns outside business hours
Network Indicators:
- High volume of HTTPS requests to LIA port 443 from single IP
- Brute force tool signatures in network traffic
SIEM Query:
source="LIA_logs" AND "authentication failed" | stats count by src_ip | where count > 10