MEDHOST Connex Hard-Coded Credentials
Posted on 25 July 2017
Overview ------------ MEDHOST Connex for all versions contains hard-coded credentials that are used for customer database access. This is a new vulnerability not related to CVE-2016-4328. Description ------------ MEDHOST Connex contains hard-coded credentials that are used for customer database access. An attacker with knowledge of the hard-coded credentials and the ability to communicate directly with the database may be able to obtain or modify sensitive patient and financial information. Connex utilizes an IBM i DB2 user account for database access. The account name is HMSCXPDN. This password is hard-coded in multiple places of the application. Customers do not have the option to change this password. The account has elevated DB2 roles, and can access all objects or database tables on the customer DB2 database. This account can access data through odbc, ftp, and telnet. Customers w/o Connex installed are still vulnerable. The MEDHOST setup program creates this account. Connex provides connectivity to exchange clinical information with the MEDHOST application. /1 Impact ------------ An attacker with knowledge of the hard-coded credentials and the ability to communicate directly with the application database server may be able to obtain or modify patient and financial information. Solution ------------ The vendor has not issued a patch and has been unresponsive to this information after 3 attempts to communicate. Restrict network access As a general security practice, only allow connections from trusted hosts and networks. Restricting access would prevent an attacker from using the hard-coded database credentials from a blocked network location. References /1 http://www.clinical-innovation.com/topics/health-it/himss-hms-launches-hms-connex-showcase-ambulatory-ehr
