How to Protect Your Four-Faith Industrial Routers from CVE-2024-12856 - A Critical Remote Command Injection Vulnerability?

VulnCheck recently disclosed a critical vulnerability in Four-Faith industrial routers that is actively being exploited in the wild. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2024-12856, is a high-severity remote command injection flaw affecting the F3x24 and F3x36 router models with firmware version 2.0. 

The vulnerability allows authenticated remote attackers to execute arbitrary operating system commands over HTTP when modifying the system time through the `/apply.cgi` endpoint. With a CVSS score of 7.2 (High), the vulnerability becomes even more critical due to the presence of default credentials, which could potentially transform it into an unauthenticated remote OS command execution issue. Approximately 15,000 internet-facing devices are estimated to be vulnerable, making this a significant security concern for organizations using Four-Faith industrial routers. In this blog post, we will explore the vulnerability's details, its potential impact, how to check if your devices are affected, and the steps to mitigate and protect your industrial routers from this critical security threat.

Introduction to Four-Faith Industrial Routers

Four-Faith Industrial Routers are robust networking solutions specifically designed for industrial and harsh environmental applications. These specialized communication devices offer reliable connectivity for industrial automation, remote monitoring, and critical infrastructure networks. The F3x24 and F3x36 series are particularly renowned for their durability, featuring rugged construction that can withstand extreme temperatures, vibrations, and electromagnetic interference.

These routers typically support multiple communication protocols, including 4G/LTE, WiFi, and Ethernet, enabling seamless integration into complex industrial networks. They provide advanced security features, cellular-to-ethernet bridging capabilities, and are widely used in sectors such as energy, transportation, manufacturing, and telecommunications. With built-in VPN support, robust firewall configurations, and flexible network management options, Four-Faith Industrial Routers have been a preferred choice for organizations requiring dependable and secure industrial communication infrastructure.

Summary of CVE-2024-12856

The vulnerability represents a critical security flaw in Four-Faith Industrial Routers, specifically targeting the F3x24 and F3x36 models running firmware version 2.0. The core of the vulnerability lies in the `/apply.cgi` endpoint, which allows an authenticated remote attacker to execute arbitrary operating system commands when modifying the system time.

The vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation in the `adj_time_year` parameter during the system time adjustment process. By crafting a malicious POST request to the endpoint, an attacker can inject arbitrary shell commands that will be executed with the privileges of the authenticated user. The vulnerability becomes even more severe due to the presence of default credentials, which could potentially transform it into an unauthenticated remote OS command execution issue.

Exploitation of this vulnerability allows attackers to:

The attack can be performed by sending a carefully crafted POST request to the `/apply.cgi` endpoint, including malicious payload in the `adj_time_year` parameter. This allows an attacker to run shell commands, create network connections, or perform other unauthorized actions on the compromised router.

With approximately 15,000 internet-facing devices estimated to be vulnerable, this security flaw represents a significant risk to organizations using Four-Faith industrial routers, particularly in critical infrastructure and industrial automation environments.

Affected Products

Non-Affected Products:

Important Notes:

How to Check Your Four-Faith Industrial Routers Is Vulnerable to CVE-2024-12856?

Identifying whether your Four-Faith Industrial Router is vulnerable to CVE-2024-12856 requires a comprehensive approach. Here are several methods to check for vulnerability:

1. Firmware Version Check

The most straightforward method to determine vulnerability is by checking your router's firmware version:

2. Authentication and Endpoint Verification

Perform the following checks:

3. Network Scanner and Reconnaissance

Use network scanning tools to identify vulnerable devices:

4. Vulnerability Scanner Check

5. Manual Exploitation Test (Caution Advised)

Warning: Only perform this in a controlled, isolated environment

# Sample curl request to test vulnerability
curl -X POST 'http://router-ip/apply.cgi' \
     -H 'Authorization: Basic base64-encoded-credentials' \
     -d 'adj_time_year=$(command-to-test)&submit_type=adjust_sys_time'

6. External Threat Intelligence

Recommended Action:

How to Fix CVE-2024-12856?

Four-Faith has acknowledged the vulnerability and is working on developing a comprehensive patch for the affected F3x24 and F3x36 router models. Until an official patch is released, organizations must implement multiple mitigation strategies to protect their industrial router infrastructure.

Vendor Recommended Mitigation Steps

1. Immediate Recommended Actions

2. Network-Level Mitigation

Temporary Workarounds

1. Credential Management

2. Access Control

# Example firewall rule to restrict router access
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 80 -s trusted_network -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 80 -j DROP

3. Network Segmentation

Monitoring and Detection

1. Logging and Alerting

2. Intrusion Detection

Patch Preparation

1. Vendor Communication

2. Patch Management

Long-Term Recommendations

1. Security Hygiene

2. Incident Response

Important Note: Organizations should treat this vulnerability with high priority, implementing multiple layers of protection until an official patch is available.

We hope this post helps explore the details of CVE-2024-12856, its summary, potential impact, and affected version, and provide guidance on how to protect your Four-Faith Industrial Routers from the flaw. Thanks for reading this post. Please share this post and help secure the digital world.Visit our website thesecmaster.com, and our social media page on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Telegram, Tumblr, Medium, and Instagram and subscribe to receive updates like this.

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