Hirschmann HiLCOS Classic Platform switches Classic L2E, L2P, L3E, L3P versions prior to 09.0.06 and Classic L2B prior to 05.3.07 contain a credential exposure vulnerability where user passwords are synchronized with SNMPv1/v2 community strings and transmitted in plaintext when the feature is enabled. Attackers with local network access can sniff SNMP traffic or extract configuration data to recover plaintext credentials and gain unauthorized administrative access to the switches.
Weakness
The storage of passwords in a recoverable format makes them subject to password reuse attacks by malicious users. In fact, it should be noted that recoverable encrypted passwords provide no significant benefit over plaintext passwords since they are subject not only to reuse by malicious attackers but also by malicious insiders. If a system administrator can recover a password directly, or use a brute force search on the available information, the administrator can use the password on other accounts.