14 DAY TRIAL // A currently unpatched vulnerability in N-Tron 702W, an industrial-level wireless access point system, can be used by a malicious actor to intercept communication from the device and compromise the confidentiality of the traffic passing through.
The weakness consists in the availability in the firmware code of the keys for encrypting sessions from a remote machine via SSH (Secure Shell) and the communication exchanged through the device via HTTPS.
Vulnerability has a high severity score
A threat actor could extract the keys from the code and access from a remote location the information running through it, warns an advisory from ICS-CERT (Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team).
All versions of N-Tron 702W are affected and Red Lion, the vendor of the device, was notified about the issue but failed to provide a response for coordination of the problem with ICS-CERT.
The risks associated with the vulnerability are far from negligible because the same keys are available on each device. Moreover, there is no functionality that would allow generating new ones.
The firmware can be freely downloaded from the manufacturer’s website, so basically anyone with the appropriate skills can extract the SSH and HTTPS keys and use them for malicious purposes at industrial environments using N-Tron 702W wireless AP systems.
Users should contact the manufacturer for mitigation
The flaw is rated with an 8.8 severity score, calculated based on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System. Its exploitation does not require advanced computer skills.
ICS-CERT is not aware of any exploits in the wild that take advantage of this vulnerability, but the current report may change the situation.
Users are advised to seek mitigation solutions straight from the vendor and apply defensive measures that would minimize the risk of exploitability.
Among the actions that can be taken, lowering the exposure of all control systems and ensuring that they are isolated from the Internet are recommended.
Also, access from outside the industrial network should be done via VPN and the business network should be separated from the one used for production.
N-Tron's website says that the product is present across multiple industry sectors, from commercial facilities, energy, nuclear reactors, materials and waste to transportation systems and wastewater management systems.