1. Introduction
The Cisco UCS Director Default Credentials (Web UI) vulnerability allows unauthorised access to the remote web application due to the use of default credentials. This can allow a remote, unauthenticated attacker to gain administrative control over the system. Affected systems typically include installations of Cisco UCS Director with unchanged default login details. Successful exploitation could compromise confidentiality, integrity and availability of the managed infrastructure.
2. Technical Explanation
- Root cause: The use of hard-coded default credentials in the Cisco UCS Director web application.
- Exploit mechanism: An attacker attempts to log into the Cisco UCS Director web interface with the default username and password.
- Scope: Cisco UCS Director installations using default credentials.
3. Detection and Assessment
You can confirm if a system is vulnerable by checking the current configuration of the web UI or attempting to log in with default credentials. A thorough method involves reviewing access logs for failed login attempts.
- Quick checks: Access the Cisco UCS Director web interface and check if it prompts for a username and password, indicating that default credentials may be in use.
- Scanning: Nessus plugin ID 139258 can detect this vulnerability. This is an example only.
- Logs and evidence: Check system logs for login attempts using the default username and password.
4. Solution / Remediation Steps
Secure any default accounts with a strong password to fix this issue.
4.1 Preparation
- Dependencies: Access to the Cisco UCS Director web interface with administrative privileges. Roll back plan: Restore from backup if necessary.
- Change window needs: Standard change control procedures may apply depending on your organisation’s policies.
4.2 Implementation
- Step 1: Log into the Cisco UCS Director web interface with administrative privileges.
- Step 2: Navigate to System > Users > User Accounts.
- Step 3: Locate the default user account (usually ‘admin’).
- Step 4: Change the password for the default user account to a strong, unique password.
- Step 5: Save the changes.
4.3 Config or Code Example
Before
Default username: admin
Default password: default
After
Username: admin
Password: ****************** (strong, unique password)
4.4 Security Practices Relevant to This Vulnerability
Several security practices can help prevent this type of issue.
- Practice 1: Least privilege – limit access rights to only those necessary for each user account.
- Practice 2: Safe defaults – avoid shipping products with default credentials or ensure they are changed during installation.
4.5 Automation (Optional)
No suitable automation script is available due to the need for manual password changes within the web UI.
5. Verification / Validation
Confirm that the fix worked by attempting to log in with the default credentials and verifying that access is denied. Also, perform a smoke test of key system functions.
- Post-fix check: Attempt to log into the Cisco UCS Director web interface using the default username (‘admin’) and password (‘default’). Access should be denied.
- Re-test: Repeat the quick check from Section 3, which should no longer prompt for a login with default credentials.
- Smoke test: Verify that you can log in with the new administrative credentials and access key system functions such as server management or network configuration.
- Monitoring: Monitor logs for failed login attempts using the old default credentials.
Login attempt failed for user 'admin' from [IP address].
6. Preventive Measures and Monitoring
Update security baselines to include a requirement for changing default credentials during installation. Consider adding checks in your CI/CD pipeline to verify that default accounts have been disabled or passwords changed.
- Baselines: Update your security baseline or policy to require changing default credentials on all new systems, including Cisco UCS Director.
- Pipelines: Add a check during deployment to ensure that default accounts are either disabled or have strong passwords assigned.
- Asset and patch process: Implement a regular review cycle for system configurations to identify and remediate any instances of default credentials being used.
7. Risks, Side Effects, and Roll Back
- Risk or side effect 1: Disruption of integrations using default credentials. Mitigation: Identify and update any integrations to use the new administrative credentials.
- Roll back: Restore from backup if necessary. If a backup is not available, revert the password change in the Cisco UCS Director web interface.
8. References and Resources
Links only to sources that match this exact vulnerability.
- Vendor advisory or bulletin: https://secunia.com/advisories/364179/
- NVD or CVE entry: No specific CVE is associated with this issue.
- Product or platform documentation relevant to the fix: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/unified_computing/ucs-director/configuration/guide/UCSD_ConfigGuide.html