CVE-2023-27389
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability in CONPROSYS IoT Gateway products allows a remote authenticated attacker with administrative privileges to upload a specially crafted firmware update file, leading to inadequate encryption strength. This can result in data alteration, denial-of-service (DoS), or arbitrary code execution. Affected users include those using specific M2M Gateway, M2M Controller Integrated Type, and M2M Controller Configurable Type devices with outdated firmware versions.
💻 Affected Systems
- M2M Gateway
- M2M Controller Integrated Type
- M2M Controller Configurable Type
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
An attacker could execute arbitrary code with administrative privileges, potentially taking full control of the device, disrupting operations, or using it as a foothold for further network attacks.
Likely Case
Attackers may cause a denial-of-service condition by corrupting firmware or alter device configurations, leading to operational downtime in industrial or IoT environments.
If Mitigated
With proper access controls and network segmentation, the impact is limited to isolated device compromise without broader network effects.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires administrative privileges and knowledge of crafting malicious firmware updates; no public exploits are known as of the provided references.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Update to firmware versions beyond those listed as affected (e.g., above Ver.3.7.10 for M2M Gateway, above Ver.3.7.6 for M2M Controller Integrated Type, above Ver.3.8.8 for M2M Controller Configurable Type)
Vendor Advisory: https://www.contec.com/api/downloadlogger?download=/-/media/Contec/jp/support/security-info/contec_security_cps_230317_en.pdf
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Download the latest firmware from the vendor's download page. 2. Follow the vendor's firmware update procedure as documented in the device manual. 3. Restart the device after the update to apply changes.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict Administrative Access
allLimit administrative access to trusted IP addresses and use strong, unique passwords to reduce the risk of credential compromise.
Configure firewall rules to allow administrative access only from specific IPs (e.g., using iptables on Linux: sudo iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport [admin_port] -s [trusted_ip] -j ACCEPT)
Disable Remote Firmware Updates
allIf possible, disable remote firmware update functionality and perform updates only locally or in controlled environments.
Check device settings to disable remote update features via the administrative interface.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement network segmentation to isolate affected devices from critical systems and the internet.
- Enhance monitoring and logging for unauthorized firmware update attempts or administrative access anomalies.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check the firmware version on the device via its administrative interface or CLI; compare against the affected versions listed in the CVE description.Check Version:
Use the device-specific command or web interface to display the current firmware version (e.g., via SSH or HTTP request to the device's admin page).Verify Fix Applied:
After updating, verify the firmware version is above the affected thresholds and test device functionality to ensure no DoS or corruption.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Log entries showing firmware update attempts from unauthorized sources or at unusual times
- Administrative login failures or successes from unexpected IP addresses
Network Indicators:
- Unusual network traffic to firmware update ports or protocols from external IPs
- Anomalies in data transmission patterns indicative of code execution
SIEM Query:
Example: 'source="device_logs" AND (event="firmware_update" OR event="admin_login") AND src_ip NOT IN [trusted_ips]'🔗 References
- https://jvn.jp/en/vu/JVNVU96198617/
- https://www.contec.com/api/downloadlogger?download=/-/media/Contec/jp/support/security-info/contec_security_cps_230317_en.pdf
- https://www.contec.com/download/donwload-list/?itemid=a054b3eb-da97-40d0-9598-d7f5ff4239ec#firmware
- https://www.contec.com/download/donwload-list/?itemid=a1b33f0d-d32b-4549-9741-613cd37d5528#firmware
- https://www.contec.com/download/donwload-list/?itemid=f832c526-dcf6-4976-85aa-f536c15a8120#firmware
- https://jvn.jp/en/vu/JVNVU96198617/
- https://www.contec.com/api/downloadlogger?download=/-/media/Contec/jp/support/security-info/contec_security_cps_230317_en.pdf
- https://www.contec.com/download/donwload-list/?itemid=a054b3eb-da97-40d0-9598-d7f5ff4239ec#firmware
- https://www.contec.com/download/donwload-list/?itemid=a1b33f0d-d32b-4549-9741-613cd37d5528#firmware
- https://www.contec.com/download/donwload-list/?itemid=f832c526-dcf6-4976-85aa-f536c15a8120#firmware
