OpenMQ exposes a TCP-based management service (imqbrokerd) that by default requires authentication. However, the product ships with a default administrative account (admin/ admin) and does not enforce a mandatory password change on first use. After the first successful login, the server continues to accept the default password indefinitely without warning or enforcement.
In real-world deployments, this service is often left enabled without changing the default credentials. As a result, a remote attacker with access to the service port could authenticate as an administrator and gain full control of the protocol’s administrative features.
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.