CVE-2023-31279
📋 TL;DR
CVE-2023-31279 allows unauthorized attackers to register unmanaged Sierra Wireless devices on the AirVantage platform when the AirVantage Management Service is enabled but not configured. This affects Sierra Wireless customers who haven't disabled the service or registered their devices, potentially allowing attackers to remotely control IoT devices.
💻 Affected Systems
- Sierra Wireless AirVantage platform
⚠️ Manual Verification Required
This CVE does not have specific version information in our database, so automatic vulnerability detection cannot determine if your system is affected.
Why? The CVE database entry doesn't specify which versions are vulnerable (no version ranges provided by the vendor/NVD).
🔒 Custom verification scripts are available for registered users. Sign up free to download automated test scripts.
- Review the CVE details at NVD
- Check vendor security advisories for your specific version
- Test if the vulnerability is exploitable in your environment
- Consider updating to the latest version as a precaution
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attackers gain full administrative control over unregistered devices, enabling remote configuration changes, firmware manipulation, data exfiltration, and execution of arbitrary AT commands that could disrupt critical IoT operations.
Likely Case
Attackers register devices to their own malicious AirVantage accounts, enabling monitoring, configuration changes, and potential service disruption for affected IoT deployments.
If Mitigated
With proper controls, devices remain secure as attackers cannot exploit the registration vulnerability when devices are properly registered or the management service is disabled.
🎯 Exploit Status
The vulnerability requires network access to devices but no authentication, making exploitation straightforward for attackers who can reach vulnerable devices.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Not version-specific - requires configuration changes
Vendor Advisory: https://source.sierrawireless.com/resources/security-bulletins/sierra-wireless-technical-bulletin---swi-psa-2023-002/
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Register all devices to your AirVantage account immediately. 2. For devices not requiring AirVantage management, disable the AirVantage Management Service. 3. Follow Sierra Wireless security bulletin SWI-PSA-2023-002 for detailed implementation guidance.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable AirVantage Management Service
allCompletely disable the vulnerable service on devices that don't require AirVantage management
AT+AVMS=0
Network Segmentation
allIsolate Sierra Wireless devices from untrusted networks using firewalls and VLANs
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict network access controls to prevent unauthorized access to device management interfaces
- Monitor for unauthorized device registration attempts and implement alerting for suspicious AirVantage activity
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check if devices have AirVantage Management Service enabled (AT+AVMS?) and verify they are properly registered in your AirVantage accountCheck Version:
ATIVerify Fix Applied:
Confirm devices appear only in your authorized AirVantage account and test that unauthorized registration attempts fail📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unexpected device registration events in AirVantage logs
- Unauthorized AT command execution attempts
- Devices appearing in unknown AirVantage accounts
Network Indicators:
- Unusual traffic to/from AirVantage servers
- AT command traffic from unexpected sources
- Registration attempts from unauthorized IPs
SIEM Query:
source="airvantage" AND (event_type="device_registration" AND NOT user IN authorized_users)