CVE-2016-4524

ABB PCM600 before 2.7 improperly stores OPC Server IEC61850 passwords in unspecified temporary circumstances, which allows local users to obtain sensitive information via unknown vectors.

Weakness

The product does not restrict or incorrectly restricts access to a resource from an unauthorized actor.

Affected Software

Name	Vendor	Start Version	End Version
Pcm600	Abb	*	2.6 (including)

Extended Description

Access control involves the use of several protection mechanisms such as:

When any mechanism is not applied or otherwise fails, attackers can compromise the security of the product by gaining privileges, reading sensitive information, executing commands, evading detection, etc. There are two distinct behaviors that can introduce access control weaknesses:

Potential Mitigations

Compartmentalize the system to have “safe” areas where trust boundaries can be unambiguously drawn. Do not allow sensitive data to go outside of the trust boundary and always be careful when interfacing with a compartment outside of the safe area.
Ensure that appropriate compartmentalization is built into the system design, and the compartmentalization allows for and reinforces privilege separation functionality. Architects and designers should rely on the principle of least privilege to decide the appropriate time to use privileges and the time to drop privileges.

References

https://ics-cert.us-cert.gov/advisories/ICSA-16-152-02

NVD	https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-4524
CWE	https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/284.html

Improper Access Control

Weakness

Affected Software

Extended Description

Potential Mitigations

Related Attack Patterns

References