Widely used modems in industrial IoT devices open to SMS attack

Widely used modems in industrial IoT devices open to SMS attack

May 11, 2024 at 09:14AM

Security flaws in Telit Cinterion cellular modems, reported by Kaspersky, allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via SMS. The most severe vulnerability, CVE-2023-47610, has a severity score of 9.8 and could allow attackers to take control of vulnerable devices without authentication. Telit has patched some vulnerabilities, but others remain. Kaspersky recommends working with telecom operators to mitigate the threats.

Based on the meeting notes, here are the key takeaways:

1. **Security Flaws in Telit Cinterion Cellular Modems**:
– **Nature**: A set of eight separate security issues, including a critical heap overflow vulnerability (CVE-2023-47610).
– **Potential Impact**: These flaws could allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via SMS, compromising the integrity of Java-based applications, and gaining deep-level access to the modem’s operating system.
– **Affected Sectors**: The security flaws are widely used in industrial, healthcare, and telecommunications sectors.

2. **Disclosure and Technical Detail Sharing**:
– The issues were disclosed in November by Kaspersky’s ICS CERT division, with a detailed technical presentation planned at the OffensiveCon conference in Berlin.

3. **Severity and Response**:
– Kaspersky assigned a severity score of 8.8, while NIST assessed the critical impact and assigned a score of 9.8.
– Telit has patched some vulnerabilities but some remain unaddressed.

4. **Recommendations**:
– Mitigation strategies recommended by Kaspersky include working with telecom operators to disable SMS sending to impacted devices and enforcing application signature verification.

5. **Global Disruption Potential**:
– Due to the widespread deployment of these devices in various sectors, there is potential for extensive global disruption.

6. **Further Impact**:
– Other products from the vendor with similar software and hardware architecture are also impacted, highlighting additional variants.

These takeaways capture the critical issues and potential implications outlined in the meeting notes. Let me know if there’s anything else you need.

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