To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker must authenticate to the management portal, and then either manually validate the file before uploading or leverage automated tools that do not validate the firmware file. Once the custom-built firmware has been validated and uploaded, it is executed on all units that receive the next firmware upgrade. This results in a remote code execution vulnerability that can be exploited by malicious administrators to gain full control of the system and exfiltrate data. In addition to this critical bug, the latest version of Patlite firmware is also reported to contain serious design and coding flaws. Disorganized code, an absence of unit tests, and a fragile dependency structure indicate a high-risk of regression, backdoor, and other security issues.

Patlite Firmware Update Process

Patlite is a firmware management platform that allows remote management of Industrial Control Systems (ICS) and IT equipment. This includes the ability to remotely update the firmware on these devices.

How to exploit Patlite firmware?

First, an attacker must authenticate to the management portal by submitting the system’s administrator username and password. Next, the attacker must manually validate the file before uploading it or leverage automated tools that do not validate the firmware file. Once the custom-built firmware has been validated and uploaded, it is executed on all units that receive the next firmware upgrade. This results in a remote code execution vulnerability that can be exploited by malicious administrators to gain full control of the system and exfiltrate data. In addition to this critical bug, Patlite firmware is also reported to contain serious design and coding flaws. Disorganized code, an absence of unit tests, and a fragile dependency structure indicate a high-risk of regression, backdoor, and other security issues.

Current version of Patlite firmware is vulnerable to remote code execution

The latest version of the Patlite firmware has a remote code execution vulnerability that can be exploited by malicious administrators to gain full control of the device and exfiltrate data.
Patlite is an industrial controller for automation systems. It is designed to control processes such as heaters, pumps, valves, solenoids, and other devices with a variety of protocols including IEC 61131-3, Profibus-DP, PROFINET/ProfinetPlus, Modbus TCP/IP, EtherNet/IPMbps, and WebHMI.

Timeline

Published on: 08/29/2022 23:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 09/02/2022 21:13:00 UTC

References