Emerson OpenBSI

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• CVSS v3 9.6
• ATTENTION: Exploitable remotely/low attack complexity
• Vendor: Emerson
• Equipment: OpenBSI
• Vulnerabilities: Use of Broken or Risky Cryptographic Algorithm, Use of Hard-coded Cryptographic Key

CISA is aware of a public report, “OT:ICEFALL,” that details vulnerabilities found in multiple operational technology (OT) vendors. CISA is issuing this advisory to provide notice of reported vulnerabilities and identify baseline mitigations to reduce risks to these and other cybersecurity attacks.

2. RISK EVALUATION

Successful exploitation of these vulnerabilities could cause remote code execution, change controller configuration, or cause a denial-of-service condition.

3. TECHNICAL DETAILS

3.1 AFFECTED PRODUCTS

The following versions of OpenBSI, a set of network communication services, are affected:

• OpenBSI: Versions 5.9 SP3 and prior

3.2 VULNERABILITY OVERVIEW

3.2.1    USE OF A BROKEN OR RISKY CRYPTOGRAPHIC ALGORITHM CWE-327

The affected product was found to store credentials in an insecure local file. This could allow an attacker with local access to the system to compromise these stored credentials.

CVE-2022-29959 has been assigned to this vulnerability. A CVSS v3 base score of 9.6 has been calculated; the CVSS vector string is (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H).

3.2.2    USE OF HARD-CODED CRYPTOGRAPHIC KEY CWE-321

The affected product was found to have hardcoded cryptographic keys, which could allow an attacker with local access to the filesystem to elevate their privileges.

CVE-2022-29960 has been assigned to this vulnerability. A CVSS v3 base score of 8.1 has been calculated; the CVSS vector string is (AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H).

3.3 BACKGROUND

• CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE SECTORS: Oil & Gas, Petrochemical, Chemical, Life Sciences, Water and Wastewater
• COUNTRIES/AREAS DEPLOYED: Worldwide
• COMPANY HEADQUARTERS LOCATION: United States

3.4 RESEARCHER

Daniel dos Santos and Jos Wetzels from Forescout Technologies reported these vulnerabilities to CISA.

4. MITIGATIONS

For CVE-2022-29959, Emerson recommends not using the OpenBSI "User Management Tool" to manage RTU credentials; this utility is no longer supported and will be removed from future versions. To remove the OpenBSI “User Management Tool” from a current installation, Emerson recommends users:

• Take backups of the information from the SecUsers.ini file securely if the tool has already been used.
• Delete the SecUser.ini file.
• Delete the UserMngtTool.exe executable from the OpenBSI folder.

CVE-2022-29960—DES (Data Encryption Standard) with hardcoded cryptographic keys is used to protect system credentials, engineering files, and sensitive utilities.    

• Devices running OpenBSI and RTUs should never be exposed to the internet. Users should also ensure network security; see OpenBSI Utilities Manual D301414x012 Section 6.1 Configuring OpenBSI Security.

CISA recommends users take defensive measures to minimize the risk of exploitation of this vulnerability these vulnerabilities. Specifically, users should:

• Minimize network exposure for all control system devices and/or systems, and ensure they are not accessible from the Internet.
• Locate control system networks and remote devices behind firewalls and isolate them from the business network.
• When remote access is required, use secure methods, such as virtual private networks (VPNs), recognizing VPNs may have vulnerabilities and should be updated to the most current version available. Also recognize VPN is only as secure as its connected devices.

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 at cisa.gov/ics. Several CISA products detailing cyber defense best 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 at cisa.gov/ics in the technical information paper, ICS-TIP-12-146-01B--Targeted Cyber Intrusion Detection and Mitigation Strategies.

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

No known public exploits specifically target these vulnerabilities.

• Emerson