CVE-2019-6563
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability in Moxa IKS and EDS devices allows attackers to predict authentication cookies due to weak MD5 hashing, enabling them to capture administrator passwords and fully compromise affected devices. It affects industrial networking equipment used in critical infrastructure environments. Organizations using these devices without proper security controls are at significant risk.
💻 Affected Systems
- Moxa IKS-G6824A
- Moxa IKS-G6824A-2GSFP
- Moxa EDS-405A
- Moxa EDS-408A
- Moxa EDS-510A
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete device takeover leading to industrial control system compromise, data theft, operational disruption, and potential physical safety risks in critical infrastructure.
Likely Case
Unauthorized administrative access allowing configuration changes, data exfiltration, and use as pivot point for network attacks.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if devices are isolated, have strong network controls, and authentication is monitored.
🎯 Exploit Status
Attack requires network access to web interface but no authentication. Cookie prediction is straightforward with known MD5 weaknesses.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Version 4.5
Vendor Advisory: https://www.moxa.com/en/support/product-support/security-advisory/moxa-iks-and-eds-gigabit-switches-vulnerabilities
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Download firmware version 4.5 or later from Moxa website. 2. Backup current configuration. 3. Upload new firmware via web interface. 4. Reboot device. 5. Restore configuration if needed.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Network Isolation
allRestrict access to device management interfaces to trusted networks only.
Configure firewall rules to block external access to ports 80/443 on affected devices
Access Control Lists
allImplement strict source IP restrictions for management access.
Configure device ACLs to permit only authorized management stations
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Isolate affected devices in separate VLAN with strict firewall rules
- Implement network monitoring for unauthorized access attempts to management interfaces
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check device firmware version via web interface or CLI. If version is below 4.5, device is vulnerable.Check Version:
show version (CLI) or check System Information in web interfaceVerify Fix Applied:
Confirm firmware version is 4.5 or higher and test authentication cookie generation.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Multiple failed login attempts followed by successful login from unusual IP
- Administrative configuration changes from unexpected sources
Network Indicators:
- Unusual traffic patterns to/from device management ports
- Authentication requests from unauthorized IP ranges
SIEM Query:
source_ip IN (device_management_ips) AND (event_type="authentication_success" AND NOT source_ip IN (authorized_admin_ips))