Security Resilience

CVE-2023-40464

Exposed Creds in Sierrawireless Aleos ≤ 4.16.0

Published
04 December 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 8.1
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
EPSS Score 0.0030 21th percentile
Risk Priority 59 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2023-40464 is a high-severity Use of Hard-coded Cryptographic Key (CWE-321) vulnerability in Sierrawireless Aleos. Its CVSS base score is 8.1 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Credentials In Files (T1552.001); ranked at the 21th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Several versions of ALEOS, including ALEOS 4.16.0, use a hardcoded SSL certificate and private key. An attacker with access to these items could potentially perform a man in the middle attack between the ACEManager client and ACEManager server.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1552.001 Credentials In Files Credential Access
Adversaries may search local file systems and remote file shares for files containing insecurely stored credentials.
T1001 Data Obfuscation Command And Control
Adversaries may obfuscate command and control traffic to make it more difficult to detect.
T1001.002 Steganography Command And Control
Adversaries may use steganographic techniques to hide command and control traffic to make detection efforts more difficult.
T1001.003 Protocol or Service Impersonation Command And Control
Adversaries may impersonate legitimate protocols or web service traffic to disguise command and control activity and thwart analysis efforts.
T1003.001 LSASS Memory Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access credential material stored in the process memory of the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS).
T1003.002 Security Account Manager Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to extract credential material from the Security Account Manager (SAM) database either through in-memory techniques or through the Windows Registry where the SAM database is stored.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-40463Same product: Sierrawireless Aleos
CVE-2023-40460Same product: Sierrawireless Aleos
CVE-2023-40465Same product: Sierrawireless Aleos
CVE-2023-40461Same product: Sierrawireless Aleos
CVE-2023-40459Same product: Sierrawireless Aleos
CVE-2023-38321Same product: Sierrawireless Aleos
CVE-2023-40462Same product: Sierrawireless Aleos
CVE-2023-49256Shared CWE-321, CWE-798
CVE-2023-2158Shared CWE-321, CWE-798
CVE-2023-0391Shared CWE-321, CWE-798

Affected Assets

sierrawireless
aleos
≤ 4.16.0

Mitigating Controls

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

addresses: CWE-798 CWE-321

Supplier evaluation and secure acquisition practices make it harder for hard-coded credentials to be introduced via procured products.

addresses: CWE-798 CWE-321

Requiring security functional requirements and acceptance criteria allows contracts to prohibit hard-coded credentials in delivered systems or components.

addresses: CWE-798 CWE-321

Supplier risk reviews identify and discourage hard-coded credentials in delivered products or services.

addresses: CWE-798

Enables users to notice when hard-coded credentials have been exploited for unauthorized access.

addresses: CWE-798

Security training explicitly warns against hard-coded credentials, lowering their use in systems.

addresses: CWE-798

Policy and procedures prohibit hard-coded credentials in favor of managed authentication.

addresses: CWE-798

External identity providers eliminate the need for hard-coded credentials in applications.

addresses: CWE-798

Changing default authenticators prior to first use and protecting content prevents use of hard-coded credentials.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.AA-01 partial match
blocks

PR.AA-01's credential/key-management processes can reduce the incentive to embed secrets but do not address or detect hard-coded values in source code, so the weakness remains fully possible.

PR.DS-01 partial match
blocks

Data-at-rest protection policies require proper key management and therefore discourage hard-coded keys.

PR.DS-02 partial match
blocks

Data-in-transit protection similarly depends on non-hard-coded keys for encryption.

PR.PS-01 partial match
blocks

Configuration baselines and reviews can prohibit hard-coded keys in deployed artifacts.

PR.PS-06 partial match
blocks

Secure-SDLC activities such as code review and secret scanning directly prevent embedding static keys.

PR.AA-02 none match
blocks

PR.AA-02 addresses human identity proofing and per-person credential issuance at enrollment; it has no bearing on whether developers embed static credentials in software.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

removes
removes
removes
removes
blocks

Education on secure configuration practices discourages technical staff from embedding or relying on hard-coded credentials in systems and applications.

References