The Access Manager 92xx in hardware revision K7 is based on Linux instead of Windows CE embedded in older hardware revisions. In this new hardware revision it was noticed that an SSH service is exposed on port 22. By analyzing the firmware of the devices, it was noticed that there are two users with hardcoded and weak passwords that can be used to access the devices via SSH. The passwords can be also guessed very easily. The password of at least one user is set to a random value after the first deployment, with the restriction that the password is only randomized if the configured date is prior to 2022. Therefore, under certain circumstances, the passwords are not randomized. For example, if the clock is never set on the device, the battery of the clock module has been changed, the Access Manager has been factory reset and has not received a time yet.
Weakness
The product uses weak credentials (such as a default key or hard-coded password) that can be calculated, derived, reused, or guessed by an attacker.
Extended Description
By design, authentication protocols try to ensure that attackers must perform brute force attacks if they do not know the credentials such as a key or password. However, when these credentials are easily predictable or even fixed (as with default or hard-coded passwords and keys), then the attacker can defeat the mechanism without relying on brute force. Credentials may be weak for different reasons, such as:
Even if a new, unique credential is intended to be generated for each product installation, if the generation is predictable, then that may also simplify guessing attacks.