Cisco switch password flaw could give access

[InfoSec News <isn () c4i org>]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/30402.html

By John Leyden
Posted: 25/04/2003

Cisco yesterday urged users of a particular version of its core router
operating system to upgrade following the discovery of a potential
serious password vulnerability.

Anyone who can obtain command line access to an affected switch can
bypass password authentication and change network configurations
without needing to know the relevant "enable" password, Cisco advised
yesterday.

"If local user authentication is enabled, a valid username can be used
to gain access to the switch without a valid password. This same local
user could then enter enable without a valid password," Cisco
explains.

The problem affects users of Cisco Catalyst 4000, 6000, and 6500 LAN
switches running Catalyst OS software version 7.5(1) only. No other
releases of Cisco Catalyst OS software are affected by this
vulnerability. Catalyst hardware running Cisco IOS is similarly
unaffected by the vulnerability.

The networking giant says that the issue is yet to be maliciously
exploited, to the best of its knowledge.

Cisco advises affected users to upgrade to version 7.6(1) of its Cat
OS software in order to plug up the security loophole. Cisco is making
this software available as a free upgrade.

Further details on the problem, and how to obtain fixed version of the
software, are explained in greater depth in Cisco's advisory here [1].

[1] http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/707/cisco-sa-20030424-catos.shtml



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