Routers HATE This One Neat Trick Exploiting Cisco Smart Routers HATE This
Channel: BSidesDFW
Date: 2022-11-22

BSidesDFW 2022 Track 1 Session 5 - 05 Nov 2022

Routers HATE This One Neat Trick: Exploiting Cisco Smart Routers HATE This

Aspiring pentesters are often told to learn networking basics before they try to hop to offensive security - here is a little incentive. The Cisco Smart Install feature of Cisco routers is an easily exploitable vulnerability that can lead to complete control of corporate networks. When configured correctly, it allows network teams to automate configuration changes and upgrade network devices at scale. We will demonstrate direct exploitation of the Cisco Smart Install feature, deep dive Cisco configs to identify the security gaps often made by the NOC to show business impact, and teach the good guys how to stop this attack in its tracks. We'll also go over which APTs have used this attack vector, what they did, what they could have done in a warfare context, and show just how many orgs are vulnerable externally. This talk is aimed at pentesters looking to turn an easy win into critical business impact by utilizing the data easily obtained by exploiting Cisco Smart Install to grab power and escalate access on corp networks, and to scare NOC management into hardening their network devices. Link this talk if you're having trouble getting those config changes through a CAB call.

@bruthacker
Eric is a former network support and operations engineer and current network pentester for a consulting firm who made the transition to offsec after being inspired at BSidesDFW, Hack_FTW, and (allegedly) DHA. When he asked what it would take to make it in infosec, a colleague advised him to "be a network guy for 5 years"... so he did.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-arnold0/