CVE-2017-8229

What is this vulnerability?

CVE-2017-8229 is categorized as a critical CWE-255 flaw with a CVSS base score of 9.8. Based on our vulnerability intelligence, this issue occurs when the application fails to securely handle untrusted data boundaries.

Amcrest IPM-721S V2.420.AC00.16.R.20160909 devices allow an unauthenticated attacker to download the administrative credentials. If the firmware version V2.420.AC00.16.R 9/9/2016 is dissected using binwalk tool, one obtains a _user-x.squashfs.img.extracted archive which contains the filesystem set up on the device that many of the binaries in the /usr folder. The binary "sonia" is the one that has the vulnerable function that sets up the default credentials on the device. If one opens this binary in IDA-pro one will notice that this follows a ARM little endian format. The function sub_436D6 in IDA pro is identified to be setting up the configuration for the device. If one scrolls to the address 0x000437C2 then one can see that /current_config is being set as an ALIAS for /mnt/mtd/Config folder on the device. If one TELNETs into the device and navigates to /mnt/mtd/Config folder, one can observe that it contains various files such as Account1, Account2, SHAACcount1, etc. This means that if one navigates to http://[IPofcamera]/current_config/Sha1Account1 then one should be able to view the content of the files. The security researchers assumed that this was only possible only after authentication to the device. However, when unauthenticated access tests were performed for the same URL as provided above, it was observed that the device file could be downloaded without any authentication.

This architectural defect enables adversaries to bypass intended security controls, directly manipulating the application's execution state or data layer. Immediate strategic intervention is required.

Risk Assessment

Impact on Systems

✅ Data Exfiltration: Attackers can extract sensitive data from backend databases, configuration files, or internal services.

✅ Authentication Bypass: Exploiting this flaw may allow unauthorized access to protected resources and administrative interfaces.

✅ Lateral Movement: Once initial access is gained, attackers can pivot to internal systems and escalate privileges.

How to Fix and Mitigate CVE-2017-8229

1. Apply Vendor Patches: Upgrade affected components to their latest, non-vulnerable versions immediately.
2. Implement Input Validation: Ensure all user-supplied data is validated, sanitized, and type-checked before processing.
3. Deploy Runtime Protection: Use Precogs continuous monitoring to detect exploitation attempts in real time.
4. Audit Dependencies: Review and update all third-party libraries and transitive dependencies.

Defending with Precogs AI

Amcrest IP cameras contain a hardcoded credential or backdoor vulnerability. Unauthenticated remote attackers connect to the camera using a known engineering password, gaining full administrative control over the feed. Precogs PII & Secrets Scanner automatically identifies hardcoded credentials in firmware.

Use Precogs to continuously scan your codebase, binaries, APIs, and infrastructure for this vulnerability class and related attack patterns. Our AI-powered detection engine combines static analysis with threat intelligence to identify exploitable weaknesses before attackers do.

Start scanning with Precogs →

Vulnerability Code Signature

Attack Data Flow

Vulnerable Code Pattern

# ❌ VULNERABLE: Unsanitized Input Flow
def process_request(request):
    user_input = request.GET.get('data')
    # Taint sink: processing untrusted data
    execute_logic(user_input)
    return {"status": "success"}

Secure Code Pattern

# ✅ SECURE: Input Validation & Sanitization
def process_request(request):
    user_input = request.GET.get('data')
    
    # Sanitized boundary check
    if not is_valid_format(user_input):
        raise ValueError("Invalid input format")
        
    sanitized_data = sanitize(user_input)
    execute_logic(sanitized_data)
    return {"status": "success"}

How Precogs Detects This

Precogs AI Analysis Engine maps untrusted input directly to execution sinks to catch complex application security vulnerabilities.\n