May 27th, 2008
Cisco confirms possibility of IOS rootkits
On the heels of an EUSecWest conference presentation on malicious rootkits for Cisco IOS (see background), Cisco’s security response team has published a must-read document confirming that stealthy malware can be loaded on the software used on the vast majority of its routers and network switches.
It is possible that an attacker could insert malicious code into a Cisco IOS software image and load it onto a Cisco device that supports that image. This attack scenario could occur on any device that uses a form of software, given a proper set of circumstances.
The company’s confirmation follows a technical discussion by Core Security researcher Sebastian Muniz of “Da IOS Rootkit,” which is basically a binary modification to the IOS image downloaded from the device.
In this Q&A, Muniz explains his creation:
The main feature of Da IOS Rootkit is the universal password. Every call to the different password validation routines grant access to the user if the unique rootkit password is specified. This is what will be in the public release. Other features such as hiding files, processes and connections will not be included. The core of the rootkit code is written in plain C instead of assembly. It doesn’t persist through upgrades yet but future versions probably will.
I haven’t tested on Catalyst switches because they run CatOS which a different than IOS. The rootkit code is rather generic so it should work with some modifications. As a matter of fact, some parts of the code are so generic that they will work on any other class of devices (not even CISCO devices).
Cisco, in response, published a list of security best practices to improve the security posture of a routing and switching network. “These practices are particularly relevant to ensure that Cisco IOS devices only use authorized and unaltered Cisco IOS software images,” the company said.
Ryan Naraine is a journalist and security evangelist at Kaspersky Lab. He manages Threatpost.com, a security news portal. Here is Ryan's full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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