CAREL Boss-Mini

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1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• CVSS v4 9.3 *ATTENTION: Exploitable remotely/low attack complexity/public exploits are available
• Vendor: CAREL
• Equipment: Boss-Mini
• Vulnerability: Path Traversal

2. RISK EVALUATION

Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could allow an attacker to manipulate an argument path, which would lead to information disclosure.

3. TECHNICAL DETAILS

3.1 AFFECTED PRODUCTS

The following versions of CAREL Boss-Mini, a local supervisor solution, are affected:

• Boss-Mini: Version 1.4.0 (Build 6221)

3.2 Vulnerability Overview

3.2.1IMPROPER LIMITATION OF A PATHNAME TO A RESTRICTED DIRECTORY (‘PATH TRAVERSAL’) CWE-22

Under certain conditions, a malicious actor already present in the same network segment of the affected product, could abuse Local File Inclusion (LFI) techniques to access unauthorized file system resources, such as configuration files, password files, system logs, or other sensitive data. This could expose confidential information and potentially lead to further threats.

CVE-2023-3643 has been assigned to this vulnerability. A CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 has been calculated; the CVSS vector string is (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

A CVSS v4 score has also been calculated for CVE-2023-3643. A base score of 9.3 has been calculated; the CVSS vector string is (CVSS4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N).

3.3 BACKGROUND

• CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE SECTORS: Commercial Facilities
• COUNTRIES/AREAS DEPLOYED: Worldwide
• COMPANY HEADQUARTERS LOCATION: Italy

3.4 RESEARCHER

Werley Ferreira, Anderson Cezar, João Luz reported this vulnerability to CAREL.

4. MITIGATIONS

CAREL recommends updating to v1.6.0 or later

If immediate upgrade is not possible, users should consider and implement the following mitigations:

• Ensure that default login credentials have been changed;
• Use strong, non-compromised passwords (i.e. passwords making use of uppercase and lowercase letters, special characters and numbers)
• Ensure the device has been deployed in a segregated internal network as per CAREL’s security recommendations (doc code +030220471 available at carel.com).

CISA recommends users take defensive measures to minimize the risk of exploitation of this vulnerability, such as:

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

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

CISA also provides a section for control systems security recommended practices on the ICS webpage on cisa.gov/ics. Several CISA products detailing cyber defense best practices are available for reading and download, including Improving Industrial Control Systems Cybersecurity with Defense-in-Depth Strategies.

CISA encourages organizations to implement recommended cybersecurity strategies for proactive defense of ICS assets.

Additional mitigation guidance and recommended practices are publicly available on the ICS webpage at cisa.gov/ics in the technical information paper, ICS-TIP-12-146-01B–Targeted Cyber Intrusion Detection and Mitigation Strategies.

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

No known public exploitation specifically targeting this vulnerability has been reported to CISA at this time.

5. UPDATE HISTORY

• June 20, 2024: Initial Publication