All versions of SGOS prior to 6.5.4 are vulnerable. This issue applies to both FIPS and non-FIPS modes.

Patches

CVE-2014-2033 - CVSS v2 base score: 7.9 (AV:A/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C)

SGOS supports multiple types of authentication realms for authenticating administrative and proxy users. Most authentication realms use remote authentication databases. Locally defined users and user lists are in the local authentication realm. The local authentication realm is typically used for administrative and console access, but can be used for proxy users as well.

When local users change their password, are deleted, or are removed from or added to a user list, changes may take up to 15 minutes to take effect due to caching. If another password-related event (such as a correct login with the new password or a rejected login due to incorrect password) occurs, the time for changes to take effect may be shorter.

An attacker who knows the account password can exploit this gap to gain unauthorized administrative access through the Management Console, or the SSH or serial console if the local realm is used for console access. A deleted user would continue to have network access for up to 15 minutes.

There are several ways to avoid this problem for releases that are not yet patched:

• After changing a password, immediately log in with the new password or attempt to log in with an incorrect password.
• After disabling an account, immediately attempt to use that account with an incorrect password.
• Use non-local realm authentication types such as LDAP, certificate, and SAML.