Johnson Controls exacqVision Enterprise System Manager

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• CVSS v3 6.7
• Vendor: Johnson Controls
• Equipment: exacqVision Enterprise System Manager (ESM)
• Vulnerability: Improper Authorization

2. RISK EVALUATION

Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could allow malicious code execution.

3. TECHNICAL DETAILS

3.1 AFFECTED PRODUCTS

This vulnerability impacts exacqVision ESM v5.12.2 and prior. All Microsoft Windows operating systems are affected with the exception of Microsoft Windows Server.

3.2 VULNERABILITY OVERVIEW

3.2.1    IMPROPER AUTHORIZATION CWE-285

By default, excessive permissions to directories are granted to authorized, low-privilege system accounts. This could be leveraged by an attacker to make application file changes or to enable privilege escalation attacks.

CVE-2019-7588 has been assigned to this vulnerability. A CVSS v3 base score of 6.7 has been calculated; the CVSS vector string is (AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

3.3 BACKGROUND

• CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE SECTORS: Critical Manufacturing
• COUNTRIES/AREAS DEPLOYED: Worldwide
• COMPANY HEADQUARTERS LOCATION: Ireland

3.4 RESEARCHER

@bzyo_ reported this vulnerability to Johnson Controls. Johnson Controls reported this vulnerability to NCCIC.

4. MITIGATIONS

Johnson Controls recommends the following:

• Users should upgrade to the latest product, Version 19.03
• Further ICS security notices and product security guidance are located at the Johnson Controls product security website: https://www.johnsoncontrols.com/cyber-solutions/security-advisories

For questions concerning this product, contact Johnson Controls Global Product Security:

https://www.johnsoncontrols.com/cyber-solutions
productsecurity@jci.com

NCCIC recommends users take the following measures to protect themselves from social engineering attacks:

• Do not click web links or open unsolicited attachments in email messages.
• Refer to Recognizing and Avoiding Email Scams for more information on avoiding email scams.
• Refer to Avoiding Social Engineering and Phishing Attacks for more information on social engineering attacks.

NCCIC reminds organizations to perform proper impact analysis and risk assessment prior to deploying defensive measures.

NCCIC also provides a section for control systems security recommended practices on the ICS-CERT web page. Several recommended practices are available for reading and download, including Improving Industrial Control Systems Cybersecurity with Defense-in-Depth Strategies.

Additional mitigation guidance and recommended practices are publicly available on the ICS-CERT website in the Technical Information Paper, ICS-TIP-12-146-01B--Targeted Cyber Intrusion Detection and Mitigation Strategies.

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

No known public exploits specifically target this vulnerability. This vulnerability is not exploitable remotely. High skill level is needed to exploit.