CinchOps Critical Alert for Houston Businesses: High-Severity Vulnerabilities in Moxa Industrial Network Devices

Recent discoveries have revealed critical security flaws in essential industrial network infrastructure components, highlighting the ongoing challenges in securing industrial control systems. This alert details two severe vulnerabilities that require immediate attention from organizations using Moxa networking equipment.

 The Vulnerabilities

The identification of these vulnerabilities underscores the complexity of securing industrial network devices that often bridge critical infrastructure systems. These high-severity flaws could potentially allow malicious actors to compromise industrial networks, making immediate remediation crucial.

CVE-2024-9138 (CVSS Score: 8.6)

• Type: Privilege Escalation via Hard-coded Credentials
• Impact: Allows authenticated users to gain root-level system access
• Risk: System compromise, unauthorized modifications, data exposure, service disruption

CVE-2024-9140 (CVSS Score: 9.3)

• Type: OS Command Injection
• Impact: Enables remote attackers to execute arbitrary code without authentication
• Risk: Complete system compromise through improper input validation
• Note: This vulnerability is particularly concerning as it can be exploited remotely by unauthenticated users

 Affected Products

Understanding which devices are impacted is crucial for organizations to assess their exposure and prioritize remediation efforts. The vulnerabilities affect a wide range of Moxa’s industrial networking products, particularly those used in critical infrastructure and industrial automation environments.

The following Moxa devices are impacted by both vulnerabilities:

• EDR-8010 Series (firmware ≤ 3.13.1)
• EDR-G9004 Series (firmware ≤ 3.13.1)
• EDR-G9010 Series (firmware ≤ 3.13.1)
• EDF-G1002-BP Series (firmware ≤ 3.13.1)
• NAT-102 Series (firmware ≤ 1.0.5)
• OnCell G4302-LTE4 Series (firmware ≤ 3.13)
• TN-4900 Series (firmware ≤ 3.13)

Additional products affected by CVE-2024-9138 only:

• EDR-810 Series (firmware ≤ 5.12.37)
• EDR-G902 Series (firmware ≤ 5.7.25)

 Required Actions and Remediation

The remediation process for these vulnerabilities requires a systematic approach to ensure all affected devices are properly updated or protected. Organizations should prioritize these actions based on their risk exposure and the criticality of affected systems.

Immediate Actions Required:

1. Firmware Updates (Available Now)
   • Upgrade to firmware version 3.14 or later for:
     • EDR-8010 Series
     • EDR-G9004 Series
     • EDR-G9010 Series
     • EDF-G1002-BP Series
2. Technical Support Required
   • OnCell G4302-LTE4 and TN-4900 Series users must contact Moxa Technical Support for security patches
   • Schedule updates during planned maintenance windows to minimize disruption
3. Critical Mitigations for NAT-102 Series (No patch currently available)
   • Implement network segmentation to minimize exposure
   • Configure strict firewall rules to limit access
   • Restrict SSH access to trusted IP addresses only
   • Deploy IDS/IPS systems for continuous monitoring
   • Enable logging and alerts for suspicious activities

 Best Practices for Long-term Security:

1. Network Security Measures
   • Implement network segmentation
   • Regular security assessments
   • Continuous monitoring for suspicious activities
   • Maintain updated network documentation
2. Access Control
   • Review and update access policies
   • Implement strong authentication mechanisms
   • Regular audit of user access rights
   • Monitor and log all access attempts
3. Incident Response
   • Update incident response plans
   • Conduct tabletop exercises
   • Maintain current backups
   • Document all changes and incidents

 Security Recommendations

Organizations using affected Moxa devices should:

1. Conduct immediate inventory assessment
2. Prioritize updates based on exposure and criticality
3. Document all remediation actions
4. Monitor for signs of exploitation
5. Review and update security policies
6. Train staff on new security procedures
7. Maintain regular communication with security teams and vendors

 How CinchOps Can Help

As your managed services provider, CinchOps can assist with:

• Conducting vulnerability assessments to identify affected Moxa devices
• Implementing and managing firmware updates across your infrastructure
• Deploying and configuring security controls like firewalls and IDS/IPS
• Monitoring network traffic for potential exploitation attempts
• Developing and implementing network segmentation strategies to minimize exposure

Organizations using these devices in critical infrastructure environments should treat this as a high-priority security issue requiring immediate attention and resources for remediation.

Remember: Industrial network security requires ongoing vigilance and regular updates to protect against emerging threats. Stay informed about security advisories and maintain regular communication with security vendors and teams.

Contact our Security Operations team today to begin protecting your industrial network infrastructure from these critical vulnerabilities.