Cisco Security Advisory-
The Cisco Wireless Location Appliance software contains a default password for the 'root' administrative account. A user who logs in using this username has complete control of the device.
This password is the same in all installations of the product prior to version 2.1.34.0 when shipped as part of a new product purchase. This vulnerability still exists on upgraded installations unless explicit steps have been taken to change the password after the initial installation of the product.
There are workarounds available for this vulnerability.
This advisory is available at https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20061012-wla.
-
This section provides details on affected products.
Vulnerable Products
This vulnerability affects Cisco 2700 Series Wireless Location Appliances shipped with versions prior to 2.1.34.0.
The version of software on the Wireless Location Appliance can be determined in one of three ways.
From the command line the version can be determined with the getserverinfo command. The version is contained in the first five lines of output which will look similar to the following output from a device running version 1.1.73.0:
------------- Server Config ------------- Product name: Cisco Wireless Location Appliance Version: 1.1.73.0
Another way to get the version from the command line is to view the file /opt/locserver/conf/version.txt. For a WLA running version 2.0.42.0, the contents of that file should be similar to:
[root@locserv /]# cat /opt/locserver/conf/version.txt #Tue Jan 31 11:08:35 PST 2006 build.number=42 minor.number=0 patch.number=0 major.number=2 branch.name=HOT product.name=Cisco Wireless Location Appliance
The version is simply obtained by assembling the numbers beginning with the "major.number" followed by "minor.number", "build.number" and "patch.number" in that order with each number separated by a period.
Lastly, the version may be obtained via the web interface on a Cisco Wireless Control System (WCS) for any Location Appliances which are configured on it. Browsing to the "Locations" tab and clicking on "Location Servers" in the resulting menu will give a list of Location Appliances with their corresponding versions under the "Versions" column.
Products Confirmed Not Vulnerable
No other Cisco products are currently known to be affected by these vulnerabilities.
-
The Cisco Wireless Location Appliance (WLA) uses RF fingerprinting technology to simultaneously track 802.11 wireless devices from directly within a WLAN infrastructure. By design, the Cisco Wireless Location Appliance is directly integrated into the WLAN infrastructure using Cisco wireless LAN controllers and Cisco Aironet lightweight access points to track the physical location of wireless devices.
The Cisco Wireless Location Appliance can be managed via a virtual terminal (standard keyboard and monitor attached directly to the appliance), a local serial console, remote SSH connections, and/or remote secure web sessions. A special administrative account is provided so that certain management, troubleshooting tasks, and basic initial setup can be performed.
The default username for administrator login is "root" (without the quotes), and the default password is "password" (without the quotes). Both the username and password are case sensitive.
This issue has been addressed in fixed versions of software by prompting the user to change the password on the root account during the appliance setup installation. This only applies to new WLA devices shipped initially with a non-vulnerable version of software for the initial installation. Previous versions of software which have been upgraded will not prompt the user to change the password for the root user during the upgrade.
This issue is documented in Cisco Bug ID CSCsb92893 ( registered customers only) .
-
The vulnerability described in this document can be eliminated by logging in to the affected WLA and changing the default password for the administrative root account to a strong password chosen by the user.
If the password has not previously been changed, the default username for the administrator login is "root" (without the quotes), and the default password is "password" (without the quotes). Both the username and password are case sensitive. After successfully logging in to the WLA as root, the default password may be changed by running the passwd command.
A reboot is not required for the new password to take effect, so network operations will not be disrupted.
-
This vulnerability is fixed in versions 2.1.34.0 and later when shipped on new devices for initial installation of the Cisco Wireless Location Appliance software.
When considering software upgrades, also consult http://www.cisco.com/go/psirt and any subsequent advisories to determine exposure and a complete upgrade solution.
In all cases, customers should exercise caution to be certain the devices to be upgraded contain sufficient memory and that current hardware and software configurations will continue to be supported properly by the new release. If the information is not clear, contact the Cisco Technical Assistance Center ("TAC") or your contracted maintenance provider for assistance.
-
The Cisco PSIRT is aware of several instances in which Cisco Wireless Location Appliances have been compromised via the default root password.
-
To learn about Cisco security vulnerability disclosure policies and publications, see the Security Vulnerability Policy. This document also contains instructions for obtaining fixed software and receiving security vulnerability information from Cisco.
-
THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS AND DOES NOT IMPLY ANY KIND OF GUARANTEE OR WARRANTY, INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR USE. YOUR USE OF THE INFORMATION ON THE DOCUMENT OR MATERIALS LINKED FROM THE DOCUMENT IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. CISCO RESERVES THE RIGHT TO CHANGE OR UPDATE THIS DOCUMENT AT ANY TIME.
A stand-alone copy or paraphrase of the text of this document that omits the distribution URL is an uncontrolled copy, and may lack important information or contain factual errors. The information in this document is intended for end-users of Cisco products.