Dimension Data finds vulnerabilities on Cisco devices

24.05.2011
Large numbers of companies using Cisco network equipment are still vulnerable to a single security vulnerability flaw nearly two years after a patch was issued, an for its has found.

Overall, Dimension's Technology Lifecycle Management (TLM) assessment service discovered that an average of 73 percent of the 270 assessments it carried out on Cisco-dominated global companies had at least one known device security vulnerability that had yet to be patched. This held true for companies of all sizes and across all geographies.

Surprisingly, a single prominent vulnerability, Cisco PSIRT (Cisco Product Security Incident Response Team) 109444, was found on 66 percent of the networks looked at, accounting for much of the security exposure it found.

PSIRT 10944 has been rated by the industry Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) as being between 6.4 and 7.8 out of 10 in terms of severity (which is to say, moderately critical), and capable of allowing an attacker to hit affected devices with a successful DDoS attack, said Dimension Data.

"To a hacker, a security vulnerability is equivalent to leaving one's front door unlocked," said Neil Campbell, Dimension Data's global security manager. "And attempting to exploit vulnerabilities is usually the first port of call when initiating an attack. That's because it may provide the hacker with full access to the device, which he could use as a launch pad to initiate further attacks internally."

The prominence of Cisco in Dimension's results is not surprising -- the company is a prominent Cisco reseller. The issue is more whether companies buying Cisco products are patching their systems rapidly enough.