CVE-2020-25175: GE Healthcare 3.0T Signa HDXT Firmware

CVE-2020-25175 Overview

CVE-2020-25175 is a critical credential exposure vulnerability affecting a wide range of GE Healthcare medical imaging and ultrasound products. The vulnerability allows specific credentials to be exposed during transport over the network, potentially enabling unauthorized access to sensitive medical imaging systems. This flaw represents a significant security risk in healthcare environments where the confidentiality and integrity of medical imaging data is paramount.

Critical Impact

Attackers on the network can intercept credentials transmitted by affected GE Healthcare devices, potentially gaining unauthorized access to MRI systems, CT scanners, X-ray systems, ultrasound devices, and nuclear medicine equipment used in clinical settings.

Affected Products

• GE Healthcare MRI Systems (Signa HDxt, Signa HD 16/23, Brivo MR355, Optima MR360, Signa HDi, Signa Vibrant)
• GE Healthcare Ultrasound Systems (LOGIQ 5/7/9 series, Vivid series, EchoPAC, Voluson 730 series)
• GE Healthcare Interventional/Fluoroscopy Systems (Innova series, Optima IGS series)
• GE Healthcare X-Ray Systems (Brivo XR series, Definium series, Discovery XR series, Optima XR series)
• GE Healthcare Mammography Systems (Seno series, Senographe Pristina)
• GE Healthcare CT Scanners (BrightSpeed, Brivo CT, Discovery CT, LightSpeed, Optima CT, Revolution series)
• GE Healthcare Nuclear Medicine/PET Systems (Brivo NM, Discovery NM/CT series, Infinia, Optima NM/CT, PET Discovery, PETrace)

Discovery Timeline

• December 14, 2020 - CVE-2020-25175 published to NVD
• November 21, 2024 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2020-25175

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability falls under CWE-522 (Insufficiently Protected Credentials) and CWE-523 (Unprotected Transport of Credentials). The affected GE Healthcare imaging and ultrasound products transmit authentication credentials over the network without adequate protection, exposing them to interception by malicious actors with network access.

Medical imaging devices often communicate with PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System) servers, workstations, and other healthcare infrastructure components. When credentials are transmitted in cleartext or with weak encryption, network-based attackers can capture these credentials through passive eavesdropping or active man-in-the-middle techniques.

The vulnerability is particularly concerning given the critical nature of medical imaging infrastructure and the potential for lateral movement within healthcare networks once credentials are compromised.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is the insufficient protection of credentials during network transport. The affected devices fail to implement adequate encryption or secure transmission protocols when sending authentication credentials across the network. This may include:

• Transmission of credentials over unencrypted protocols
• Use of weak or deprecated encryption algorithms
• Improper implementation of secure transport layer protocols
• Lack of certificate validation in encrypted communications

These implementation deficiencies allow attackers positioned on the network to capture and potentially replay credentials to gain unauthorized access to the affected medical imaging systems.

Attack Vector

The attack vector for CVE-2020-25175 is network-based. An attacker with access to the network segment where affected GE Healthcare devices communicate can intercept credential transmissions. The attack requires no user interaction and no prior authentication, making it exploitable by any malicious actor with network proximity to the vulnerable devices.

Potential attack scenarios include:

• Passive network sniffing to capture credentials transmitted in cleartext
• Man-in-the-middle attacks to intercept credentials from weakly encrypted sessions
• ARP spoofing or other network manipulation techniques to redirect traffic through an attacker-controlled system
• Compromised adjacent systems used as pivot points for credential interception

Once credentials are captured, attackers can authenticate to the medical imaging systems, potentially accessing or modifying patient data, disrupting clinical operations, or using the compromised systems as entry points for further network penetration.

Detection Methods for CVE-2020-25175

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual authentication attempts to GE Healthcare imaging systems from unexpected network locations or IP addresses
• Unexpected network traffic patterns involving credential-bearing protocols to or from medical imaging devices
• Detection of cleartext credentials or weak cipher suites in network traffic analysis
• Multiple failed login attempts followed by successful authentication from different source addresses
• Evidence of ARP spoofing or man-in-the-middle activity on network segments containing medical imaging equipment

Detection Strategies

• Deploy network traffic analysis tools to monitor communications to and from GE Healthcare imaging devices for unencrypted credential transmissions
• Implement intrusion detection systems (IDS) with rules to detect credential interception techniques such as ARP spoofing and suspicious packet captures
• Enable comprehensive logging on all medical imaging systems and centralize logs for analysis of anomalous authentication events
• Conduct regular network security assessments and penetration testing focused on medical device network segments

Monitoring Recommendations

• Monitor authentication logs on affected GE Healthcare systems for unusual access patterns or credential use from unexpected sources
• Implement network segmentation monitoring to detect unauthorized access attempts to medical imaging VLANs
• Deploy endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions on workstations that interact with medical imaging equipment
• Establish baseline network behavior for medical imaging devices and alert on deviations that may indicate credential theft or unauthorized access

How to Mitigate CVE-2020-25175

Immediate Actions Required

• Contact GE Healthcare service representatives to obtain and apply firmware updates or patches that address this vulnerability
• Implement strict network segmentation to isolate affected medical imaging devices from general network traffic
• Deploy network monitoring and intrusion detection systems on medical device network segments
• Restrict network access to affected devices using firewall rules and access control lists to limit exposure to trusted systems only
• Review and audit authentication logs for any signs of credential compromise or unauthorized access

Patch Information

Organizations should contact GE Healthcare directly for specific patch information and remediation guidance. The CISA ICS Advisory ICSMA-20-343-01 provides additional details on affected products and recommended mitigations. GE Healthcare has issued product security notifications to affected customers with device-specific remediation instructions.

Workarounds

• Implement network segmentation to place all affected medical imaging devices on isolated VLANs with strict access controls
• Deploy VPN or encrypted tunnels for all communications to and from medical imaging systems where direct patching is not immediately feasible
• Use network access control (NAC) solutions to ensure only authorized devices can communicate with medical imaging equipment
• Consider implementing additional authentication layers such as certificate-based authentication where supported by the device configuration

# Example network segmentation configuration for medical imaging devices
# Create dedicated VLAN for medical imaging systems
vlan 100
  name MEDICAL_IMAGING_ISOLATED
  
# Apply strict access control to imaging VLAN
interface vlan 100
  ip access-group IMAGING_ACL in
  ip access-group IMAGING_ACL out
  
# Restrict access to only authorized clinical workstations and PACS servers
ip access-list extended IMAGING_ACL
  permit tcp host [PACS_SERVER_IP] any eq 104
  permit tcp host [AUTHORIZED_WORKSTATION_1] any
  permit tcp host [AUTHORIZED_WORKSTATION_2] any
  deny ip any any log