CVE-2017-17746 Explained : Impact and Mitigation

CVE-2017-17746 was published on December 20, 2017, by MITRE. It involves insufficient access control measures on the TP-Link TL-SG108E 1.0.0, allowing unauthorized access to the device within a NAT network.

Understanding CVE-2017-17746

What is CVE-2017-17746?

The vulnerability in CVE-2017-17746 allows any user within a NAT network, where an authenticated administrator is present, to access the TP-Link TL-SG108E 1.0.0 device without requiring user credentials.

The Impact of CVE-2017-17746

The vulnerability enables unauthorized users behind a NAT gateway to be considered authenticated, posing a significant security risk.

Technical Details of CVE-2017-17746

Vulnerability Description

Weak access control methods on the TP-Link TL-SG108E 1.0.0 allow unauthorized users within a NAT network to access the device without entering credentials.

Affected Systems and Versions

Product: TP-Link TL-SG108E 1.0.0
Vendor: TP-Link
Version: 1.0.0

Exploitation Mechanism

An authenticated administrator within the NAT network inadvertently extends authentication to all users behind the NAT gateway, granting unauthorized access.

Mitigation and Prevention

Immediate Steps to Take

Disable remote access to the device if not required
Implement strong firewall rules to restrict unauthorized access

Long-Term Security Practices

Regularly update firmware to patch known vulnerabilities
Conduct security audits to identify and address access control weaknesses

Patching and Updates

Apply security patches provided by TP-Link to address the access control vulnerability