| Recurring |
one_organization, multiple_organization |
(a) The software failure incident related to Cisco's Trust Anchor vulnerability has happened again within the same organization. Researchers from the security firm Red Balloon exploited vulnerabilities in Cisco's IOS operating system and Trust Anchor feature, potentially allowing hackers to compromise Cisco routers [84401]. This incident highlights a significant security flaw in Cisco's products, indicating a recurring issue within the organization.
(b) The software failure incident involving the Trust Anchor vulnerability in Cisco's products may also have implications for other organizations using similar security mechanisms. The researchers demonstrated a way to bypass the Trust Anchor on Cisco devices, indicating that similar vulnerabilities could exist in products from other companies that rely on secure enclaves or similar security features [84401]. This raises concerns about the broader impact of such vulnerabilities across multiple organizations using similar security technologies. |
| Phase (Design/Operation) |
design, operation |
(a) The article discusses a software failure incident related to the design phase. Researchers from the security firm Red Balloon exploited vulnerabilities in the Cisco 1001-X series router, including a bug in Cisco's IOS operating system and a way to bypass the router's fundamental security protection known as the Trust Anchor [84401].
(b) The article also touches upon a software failure incident related to the operation phase. The researchers were able to bypass Cisco's secure boot protections by manipulating a hardware component at the core of the Trust Anchor called a "field programmable gate array" (FPGA). This manipulation allowed them to override the kill switch programmed by Cisco engineers, leading to a breach of trust in the system during operation [84401]. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) |
within_system |
(a) within_system: The software failure incident reported in the article is primarily due to contributing factors that originate from within the system. The vulnerabilities exploited by the researchers from Red Balloon to compromise the Cisco 1001-X routers were related to bugs in Cisco's IOS operating system and the bypassing of the Trust Anchor security feature implemented by Cisco [84401]. These vulnerabilities allowed the researchers to gain root access and compromise the devices, indicating that the failure originated from within the system itself. Additionally, the manipulation of the hardware component, the field programmable gate array (FPGA), which was part of the Trust Anchor, further demonstrates that the failure was within the system [84401]. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) |
non-human_actions, human_actions |
(a) The software failure incident in the Cisco 1001-X series router was primarily due to non-human actions, specifically vulnerabilities in the Cisco IOS operating system and the Trust Anchor security feature that were exploited by researchers from Red Balloon [84401].
(b) However, human actions were also involved in the incident as the researchers from Red Balloon actively exploited the vulnerabilities in the router to demonstrate how an attacker could compromise the device's secure boot process and bypass the Trust Anchor security feature [84401]. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) |
hardware, software |
(a) The software failure incident reported in the articles is related to hardware. The incident involved a vulnerability in the hardware component of the Cisco 1001-X series routers, specifically the Trust Anchor implemented using a field programmable gate array (FPGA) [84401].
(b) The software failure incident also has a software aspect to it. The vulnerability exploited by the researchers from Red Balloon involved a bug in Cisco's IOS operating system, which allowed remote access to the devices. Additionally, the incident required a software patch to fix the vulnerability in the IOS operating system [84401]. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) |
malicious |
(a) The software failure incident reported in Article 84401 is malicious in nature. Researchers from the security firm Red Balloon exploited vulnerabilities in the Cisco 1001-X series router, allowing a hacker to potentially take over the router and compromise all data and commands flowing through it. They were able to bypass the router's fundamental security protection known as the Trust Anchor, which is a critical security feature implemented in Cisco's enterprise devices. This malicious attack could lead to full compromise of the networks these devices are on, posing a significant threat to the security and integrity of the systems [84401].
(b) The software failure incident described in the article is non-malicious in nature. The vulnerabilities exploited by the researchers were not introduced unintentionally or without intent. Instead, the researchers deliberately manipulated the hardware component at the core of the Trust Anchor, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), to bypass Cisco's secure boot protections. This deliberate action allowed them to override the kill switch and defeat secure boot, potentially compromising the Trust Anchor and undermining the device's critical protections [84401]. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) |
poor_decisions, accidental_decisions |
(a) The software failure incident related to the Cisco 1001-X series router vulnerability can be attributed to poor decisions made in the design and implementation of the Trust Anchor feature. Researchers from Red Balloon exploited vulnerabilities in the Cisco IOS operating system and bypassed the Trust Anchor, a critical security feature implemented in Cisco's enterprise devices since 2013. This allowed them to compromise the routers and potentially defeat the Trust Anchor on hundreds of millions of Cisco units worldwide, leading to the possibility of fully compromising networks [84401].
(b) The software failure incident can also be linked to accidental decisions or unintended consequences. The researchers discovered a way to manipulate the FPGA component at the core of the Trust Anchor by reverse engineering the hardware and modifying the bitstream to override the secure boot protections. This unintended consequence allowed them to defeat the secure boot process and compromise the device's security, highlighting a flaw in the design that was not anticipated by the system developers [84401]. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) |
development_incompetence, accidental |
(a) The software failure incident in the article is related to development incompetence as researchers from the security firm Red Balloon exploited vulnerabilities in the Cisco 1001-X series router, allowing a hacker to take over the router and compromise all data and commands flowing through it. The vulnerabilities included a bug in Cisco's IOS operating system and bypassing the Trust Anchor security feature implemented in Cisco devices since 2013 [84401]. The researchers were able to manipulate a hardware component called a field programmable gate array (FPGA) to bypass Cisco's secure boot protections, demonstrating a significant flaw in the design and implementation of the Trust Anchor technology [84401].
(b) The software failure incident can also be considered accidental as the researchers discovered a way to override the kill switch programmed by Cisco engineers in the secure boot process of the router. This accidental discovery allowed them to manipulate the FPGA bitstream and defeat the Trust Anchor security feature, indicating a flaw in the design and implementation of the security measures [84401]. |
| Duration |
temporary |
The software failure incident described in the article [84401] can be categorized as a temporary failure. The vulnerability exploited by the researchers from Red Balloon allowed them to compromise the Cisco 1001-X routers by bypassing the Trust Anchor security feature. This vulnerability was due to specific contributing factors introduced by the manipulation of the hardware component, the field programmable gate array (FPGA), which controlled the secure boot process. The researchers were able to override the kill switch programmed by Cisco engineers, allowing the device to boot normally even after a breach of trust was detected by secure boot. This temporary failure was not a permanent issue but rather a specific vulnerability that could be exploited under certain circumstances. Cisco is working on releasing patches to address this specific vulnerability, indicating that it is a temporary issue that can be mitigated through software updates and potentially hardware changes in future product generations. |
| Behaviour |
crash, omission, value, byzantine, other |
(a) crash: The software failure incident described in the article can be related to a crash behavior. The researchers were able to compromise the device's secure boot process, which is a fundamental code coordinating hardware and software as a device turns on, and checks that it's genuine and unmodified. By manipulating a hardware component at the core of the Trust Anchor called a field programmable gate array (FPGA), they were able to override the kill switch programmed by Cisco engineers, allowing the device to boot normally even though a breach of trust was detected, indicating a loss of control over the device's state [84401].
(b) omission: The software failure incident can also be related to an omission behavior. The researchers were able to bypass Cisco’s secure boot protections by modifying the part of the FPGA bitstream that controlled a kill switch. This modification allowed the device to boot normally even though a breach of trust was detected, indicating an omission in performing the intended function of triggering the kill switch when a breach was detected [84401].
(c) timing: The software failure incident does not seem to be related to a timing behavior as there is no indication in the article that the system performed its intended functions too late or too early.
(d) value: The software failure incident can be related to a value behavior. The researchers were able to compromise the device's secure boot process, which is a crucial way to ensure that an attacker hasn’t gained total control of a device. By overriding the kill switch, the device booted normally even though a breach of trust was detected, indicating that the system was performing its intended function incorrectly by not responding appropriately to a security breach [84401].
(e) byzantine: The software failure incident can be related to a byzantine behavior. The researchers were able to manipulate the FPGA bitstream to override the kill switch, allowing the device to boot normally even though a breach of trust was detected. This inconsistent response and interaction with the breach of trust indicate a byzantine behavior in the system's security mechanisms [84401].
(f) other: The software failure incident can be categorized as an "other" behavior. The researchers demonstrated a way to bypass the Trust Anchor, a critical security feature in Cisco devices, by compromising the secure boot process. This manipulation allowed the device to boot normally despite a breach of trust being detected, showcasing a behavior not explicitly falling under the crash, omission, timing, value, or byzantine categories [84401]. |