Xylem AquaView

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• CVSS v3 9.3
• ATTENTION: Low attack complexity
• Vendor: Xylem, Inc.
• Equipment: AquaView
• Vulnerability: Use of Hard-coded Credentials

2. RISK EVALUATION

Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could allow an authenticated local attacker to create users, delete users, disable user groups, and update the system and its security levels.

3. TECHNICAL DETAILS

3.1 AFFECTED PRODUCTS

The following versions of AquaView, a SCADA system, are affected:

• AquaView: Versions 1.60, 7.x, 8.x

3.2 VULNERABILITY OVERVIEW

3.2.1    USE OF HARD-CODED CREDENTIALS CWE-798

The affected product is vulnerable to the use of hard-coded credentials, which could allow an authenticated local attacker to obtain control of the system or reuse credentials to further penetrate the system.

CVE-2021-42833 has been assigned to this vulnerability. A CVSS v3 base score of 9.3 has been calculated; the CVSS vector string is (AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H).

3.3 BACKGROUND

• CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE SECTORS: Water and Wastewater Systems
• COUNTRIES/AREAS DEPLOYED: Worldwide
• COMPANY HEADQUARTERS LOCATION: United States

3.4 RESEARCHER

Xylem, Inc., reported this vulnerability to CISA.

4. MITIGATIONS

Xylem recommends AquaView users implement new security settings. For additional details, please see Xylem Product Security Advisory XSA-2021-006

CISA reminds organizations to perform proper impact analysis and risk assessment prior to deploying defensive measures.



CISA also provides a section for control systems security recommended practices on the ICS webpage on cisa.gov. Several recommended practices are available for reading and download, including Improving Industrial Control Systems Cybersecurity with Defense-in-Depth Strategies.

Additional mitigation guidance and recommended practices are publicly available on the ICS webpage on cisa.gov in the Technical Information Paper, ICS-TIP-12-146-01B--Targeted Cyber Intrusion Detection and Mitigation Strategies.



Organizations observing any suspected malicious activity should follow their established internal procedures and report their findings to CISA for tracking and correlation against other incidents.

No known public exploits specifically target this vulnerability. This vulnerability is not exploitable remotely.

• Xylem