| Recurring |
one_organization |
(a) The software failure incident has happened again at one_organization:
- The incident occurred with Cisco enterprise products like desk phones, web cameras, and network switches [95919].
- Researchers discovered flaws in Cisco products that could be exploited to penetrate deep into corporate networks [95919].
- The vulnerabilities were found in the implementation of the Cisco Discovery Protocol, impacting millions of Cisco devices [95919].
- Armis disclosed the vulnerabilities to Cisco, which then released patches for all five vulnerabilities [95919].
- There is a history of researchers discovering CDP vulnerabilities in Cisco products, prompting the need for fixes before exploitation [95919].
(b) The software failure incident has happened again at multiple_organization:
- The article does not mention similar incidents happening at other organizations or with their products and services. |
| Phase (Design/Operation) |
design |
(a) The software failure incident described in the article is related to the design phase. The vulnerabilities in Cisco enterprise products, such as desk phones, web cameras, and network switches, were due to flaws in the implementation of the Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP), which is a design aspect of the network devices. The flaws in CDP allowed attackers to exploit the system and penetrate deep into corporate networks, impacting millions of devices [95919].
(b) The software failure incident is not related to the operation phase or misuse of the system. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) |
within_system, outside_system |
(a) The software failure incident reported in the article is primarily within_system. The vulnerabilities in Cisco enterprise products, specifically in the implementation of the Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP), allowed attackers to exploit flaws within the system to penetrate deep into corporate networks [95919]. The vulnerabilities in CDP, a Layer 2 protocol used by Cisco products, provided an efficient route for attackers to target and compromise multiple Cisco devices simultaneously once they gained a foothold inside a network. The flaws in CDP allowed attackers to move laterally within a system, intercept unencrypted network data, and potentially access sensitive information like a company's "active directory" [95919]. The article highlights that the vulnerabilities were found by the enterprise security firm Armis, who disclosed their findings to Cisco, leading to the release of patches for all five vulnerabilities by Cisco [95919].
(b) The software failure incident also has elements of outside_system factors contributing to the vulnerability. The article mentions that the vulnerabilities in Cisco products, such as desk phones, web cameras, and network switches, could be exploited by attackers to penetrate deep into corporate networks. This highlights the external threat posed by attackers who could exploit the vulnerabilities in Cisco products to gain unauthorized access to sensitive information within a network [95919]. Additionally, the article references previous instances of suspected state-sponsored Russian hackers targeting office IoT devices to infiltrate corporate networks, indicating external threats targeting enterprise networks [95919]. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) |
non-human_actions, human_actions |
(a) The software failure incident in this case is primarily due to non-human actions, specifically vulnerabilities in the Cisco Discovery Protocol implementation in Cisco products [95919]. These vulnerabilities were discovered by the enterprise security firm Armis and could be exploited by attackers to penetrate deep into corporate networks, compromising multiple devices simultaneously. The flaws in the implementation of the Cisco Discovery Protocol allowed attackers to exploit the network's "Layer 2" and move laterally within the network, intercepting unencrypted data and potentially taking over crucial devices like network switches [95919].
(b) Human actions also play a role in this software failure incident as researchers like those at Armis and Ang Cui have been actively discovering and disclosing vulnerabilities in the Cisco products to prompt fixes before exploitation occurs [95919]. Additionally, the need for manual patching of vulnerable devices highlights the importance of human intervention in ensuring the security of enterprise networks [95919]. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) |
hardware, software |
(a) The software failure incident reported in the article is related to hardware vulnerabilities in Cisco enterprise products such as desk phones, web cameras, and network switches [95919]. These vulnerabilities in the hardware devices could be exploited to penetrate deep into corporate networks, impacting millions of devices. The flaws were found in the implementation of the Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP), a mechanism that allows Cisco products to broadcast their identities within a private network. Attackers could exploit these hardware vulnerabilities to intercept unencrypted internal information, move between different parts of a target's system, and potentially take over crucial devices like network switches [95919].
(b) The software failure incident is also related to software vulnerabilities in the implementation of the Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP) in Cisco products [95919]. The vulnerabilities in the software allowed attackers to exploit the CDP to automatically and simultaneously target many devices at once, compromising one vulnerable Cisco device after another to bore deeper into a system. The software flaws in CDP provided an efficient route for attackers to attack ubiquitous Cisco products, leading to the discovery of related bugs throughout the disclosure process [95919]. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) |
malicious |
(a) The software failure incident described in the article is malicious in nature. Researchers discovered flaws in Cisco enterprise products that could be exploited by attackers to penetrate deep into corporate networks, intercept unencrypted internal information, and take over crucial devices like network switches [95919]. The vulnerabilities found by the enterprise security firm Armis could allow attackers to target batches of Cisco devices at once to shut them down or turn them into eyes and ears inside a target organization. Concerns about state-sponsored hackers attacking office IoT devices to infiltrate corporate networks have also been raised [95919]. The Department of Homeland Security has warned about the importance of defending enterprise network infrastructure [95919].
(b) The software failure incident is non-malicious in the sense that the vulnerabilities were not intentionally introduced to harm the system. The flaws lie in the implementation of the Cisco Discovery Protocol, which is used by Cisco products to broadcast their identities within a private network. Armis disclosed its findings to Cisco, and the networking giant is releasing patches for all five vulnerabilities to address the issues [95919]. The article mentions that there is a history of researchers discovering CDP vulnerabilities and calling attention to them so that Cisco can fix them before they are exploited or to minimize exploitation [95919]. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) |
poor_decisions |
(a) The intent of the software failure incident:
The software failure incident related to the vulnerabilities in Cisco enterprise products was not due to accidental decisions but rather poor decisions. The vulnerabilities were a result of flaws in the implementation of the Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP), which allowed attackers to exploit these devices and penetrate deep into corporate networks. The use of CDP, a proprietary protocol by Cisco, created an easy way for attackers to find and target Cisco products within a network, making it a poor decision in terms of network security [95919]. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) |
accidental |
(a) The software failure incident reported in the article is not attributed to development incompetence. The vulnerabilities in Cisco enterprise products were discovered by the enterprise security firm Armis, and Cisco has worked to release patches for all five vulnerabilities [95919].
(b) The software failure incident in the article is related to accidental factors. The vulnerabilities in Cisco products, specifically in the implementation of the Cisco Discovery Protocol, were discovered by Armis and were not intentionally introduced by the development organization. These vulnerabilities could be exploited by attackers to penetrate deep into corporate networks [95919]. |
| Duration |
permanent |
(a) The software failure incident described in the article is more of a permanent nature. The vulnerabilities in Cisco enterprise products, specifically in the implementation of the Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP), could potentially allow attackers to exploit these flaws to penetrate deep into corporate networks. These vulnerabilities impact millions of devices and could be used to intercept unencrypted internal information, compromise crucial devices like network switches, and move laterally within a system [95919]. The article also mentions that there is a history of researchers discovering CDP vulnerabilities over decades, highlighting the ongoing nature of such vulnerabilities and the need for continuous vigilance and patching to prevent exploitation [95919]. |
| Behaviour |
value, other |
(a) crash: The software failure incident described in the article is not related to a crash where the system loses state and does not perform any of its intended functions. Instead, the vulnerabilities in Cisco enterprise products could be exploited to penetrate deep into corporate networks [95919].
(b) omission: The software failure incident is not related to a system omitting to perform its intended functions at an instance(s). The vulnerabilities found in Cisco products could allow attackers to target vulnerable devices and compromise them to bore deeper into a system [95919].
(c) timing: The software failure incident is not related to the system performing its intended functions correctly but too late or too early. It is about vulnerabilities in Cisco products that could be exploited to intercept unencrypted network data and access a company's "active directory" [95919].
(d) value: The software failure incident is related to the system performing its intended functions incorrectly. The vulnerabilities found in Cisco enterprise products could be exploited to cause widespread issues, intercept internal information, and take over crucial devices like network switches [95919].
(e) byzantine: The software failure incident is not related to the system behaving erroneously with inconsistent responses and interactions. It is about vulnerabilities in Cisco products that could be exploited by attackers to move laterally within a network and compromise multiple devices simultaneously [95919].
(f) other: The software failure incident involves vulnerabilities in the implementation of the Cisco Discovery Protocol, which allows attackers to find Cisco products within a network easily once they are inside. This creates an efficient route for attackers to target and compromise Cisco devices, potentially leading to a complete takeover of the network [95919]. |