CVE-2020-6875
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability in ZTE networking products allows attackers to bypass authentication through brute-force attacks due to missing access control mechanisms. It affects ZXONE 19700 and ZXONE 8700 devices, potentially giving unauthorized users administrative access to critical network infrastructure.
💻 Affected Systems
- ZXONE 19700 SNPE
- ZXONE 8700
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete compromise of network infrastructure allowing attackers to reconfigure routing, intercept traffic, or disable critical services.
Likely Case
Unauthorized administrative access leading to network configuration changes, data interception, or service disruption.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper network segmentation and monitoring detecting brute-force attempts.
🎯 Exploit Status
Brute-force attacks require no authentication and can be automated with standard tools.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Not specified in CVE but check vendor advisory
Vendor Advisory: http://support.zte.com.cn/support/news/LoopholeInfoDetail.aspx?newsId=1013643
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Contact ZTE support for patched firmware. 2. Backup configuration. 3. Apply firmware update following ZTE documentation. 4. Verify authentication mechanisms are functioning.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Network Segmentation
allIsolate affected devices from untrusted networks and limit management interface access
Rate Limiting
allImplement network-level rate limiting for authentication attempts
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict network access controls allowing only trusted IPs to management interfaces
- Enable comprehensive logging and monitoring for authentication attempts and alert on failures
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check device firmware version against affected versions in ZTE advisoryCheck Version:
show version (ZTE CLI command)Verify Fix Applied:
Test authentication mechanisms and verify brute-force protection is implemented📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Multiple failed authentication attempts from single source
- Successful logins from unusual IP addresses
Network Indicators:
- High volume of authentication requests to device management ports
- Traffic patterns consistent with brute-force tools
SIEM Query:
source_ip=* AND (event_type="authentication_failure" OR event_type="login") AND count>10 within 5min