ICS Advisory

Morpho Itemiser 3 Hard-Coded Credential

Last Revised
Alert Code
ICSA-14-205-01

OVERVIEW

Independent researchers Billy Rios and Terry McCorkle have identified hard-coded credentials in the Morpho Itemiser 3. Morpho has not produced a patch, update, or new version that mitigates this vulnerability.

This vulnerability could be exploited remotely.

AFFECTED PRODUCTS

The following Morpho Itemiser 3 version is affected:

Itemiser 3 v 8.17

IMPACT

Once access is gained, the attacker can read and write to the file system and reconfigure the device. Attackers may also have access to other devices that are attached to this product.

Impact to individual organizations depends on many factors that are unique to each organization. NCCIC/ICS-CERT recommends that organizations evaluate the impact of this vulnerability based on their operational environment, architecture, and product implementation.

BACKGROUND

Morpho is an international company that maintains offices in several countries around the world, including the US, UK, Netherlands, India, Germany, France, Czech Republic, China, and Australia.

The affected product, Itemiser 3, is a residue testing machine. This machine is used by the various groups to test for explosives residue on hands and other objects.

VULNERABILITY CHARACTERIZATION

VULNERABILITY OVERVIEW

USE OF HARD-CODED CREDENTIALSCWE-259: Use of Hard-coded Password, http://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/259.html, web site last accessed July 24, 2014.

An attacker can log into the device using the hard-coded credentials that grant administrative access. Administrative credentials allow users to change device settings and read and write to the file system. This could result in a loss of confidentiality, integrity, or availability.

CVE-2014-2363NVD, http://web.nvd.nist.gov/view/vuln/detail?vulnId=CVE-2014-2363, NIST uses this advisory to create the CVE web site report. This web site will be active sometime after publication of this advisory. has been assigned to this vulnerability. A CVSS v2 base score of 10.0 has been assigned; the CVSS vector string is (AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C).CVSS Calculator, http://nvd.nist.gov/cvss.cfm?version=2&vector=AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C, web site last accessed July 24, 2014.

VULNERABILITY DETAILS

EXPLOITABILITY

This vulnerability could be exploited remotely.

EXISTENCE OF EXPLOIT

No known public exploits specifically target this vulnerability.

DIFFICULTY

An attacker with a low skill would be able to exploit this vulnerability.

MITIGATION

Morpho has decided not to address this vulnerability at this time.

ICS-CERT encourages asset owners to take additional defensive measures to protect against this and other cybersecurity risks.

  • Minimize network exposure for all control system devices and/or systems, and ensure that they are not accessible from the Internet.
  • Locate control system networks and remote devices behind firewalls, and isolate them from the business network.
  • When remote access is required, use secure methods, such as Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), recognizing that VPNs may have vulnerabilities and should be updated to the most current version available. Also recognize that VPN is only as secure as the connected devices.

ICS-CERT also provides a section for control systems security recommended practices on the ICS-CERT web page at: http://ics-cert.us-cert.gov/content/recommended-practices. Several recommended practices are available for reading and download, including Improving Industrial Control Systems Cybersecurity with Defense-in-Depth Strategies. ICS-CERT reminds organizations to perform proper impact analysis and risk assessment prior to deploying defensive measures.

Additional mitigation guidance and recommended practices are publicly available in the ICS‑CERT Technical Information Paper, ICS-TIP-12-146-01B--Targeted Cyber Intrusion Detection and Mitigation Strategies, that is available for download from the ICS-CERT web site (http://ics-cert.us-cert.gov/).

Organizations observing any suspected malicious activity should follow their established internal procedures and report their findings to ICS-CERT for tracking and correlation against other incidents.

This product is provided subject to this Notification and this Privacy & Use policy.

Vendor

Morpho