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1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

CVSS v3 7.5
ATTENTION: Exploitable remotely/low attack complexity/public exploits are available
Vendor: Centralite
Equipment: Pearl Thermostat
Vulnerability: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling

2. RISK EVALUATION

Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could allow an attacker to cause a denial of service on the affected product.

3. TECHNICAL DETAILS

3.1 AFFECTED PRODUCTS

The following versions Centralite Pearl Thermostat are affected:

Pearl Thermostat: version 0x04075010

3.2 Vulnerability Overview

3.2.1 ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES WITHOUT LIMITS OR THROTTLING CWE-770

A vulnerability in Centralite Pearl Thermostat 0x04075010 allows attackers to cause a denial of service (DoS) via a crafted Zigbee message.

CVE-2023-24678 has been assigned to this vulnerability. A CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 has been calculated; the CVSS vector string is (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H).

3.3 BACKGROUND

CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE SECTORS: Commercial Facilities, Communications
COUNTRIES/AREAS DEPLOYED: Worldwide
COMPANY HEADQUARTERS LOCATION: United States

3.4 RESEARCHER

Xiaoyue Ma (xma9@gmu.edu), Lannan “Lisa” Luo (lluo4@gmu.edu) and Qiang Zeng (zeng@gmu.edu) of George Mason University reported this vulnerability.

4. MITIGATIONS

Centralite has not responded to requests to work with CISA to mitigate this vulnerability. Users of affected versions of Centralite Pearl Thermostat are invited to contact Centralite customer support for additional information.

CISA recommends users take defensive measures to minimize the risk of exploitation of this vulnerability, such as:

Minimize network exposure for all control system devices and/or systems, ensuring they are not accessible from the internet.
Locate control system networks and remote devices behind firewalls and isolating them from business networks.
When remote access is required, use more secure methods, such as Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), recognizing VPNs may have vulnerabilities and should be updated to the most current version available. Also recognize VPN is only as secure as the connected devices.

CISA reminds organizations to perform proper impact analysis and risk assessment prior to deploying defensive measures.

CISA also provides a section for control systems security recommended practices on the ICS webpage on cisa.gov/ics. Several CISA products detailing cyber defense best practices are available for reading and download, including Improving Industrial Control Systems Cybersecurity with Defense-in-Depth Strategies.

CISA encourages organizations to implement recommended cybersecurity strategies for proactive defense of ICS assets.

Additional mitigation guidance and recommended practices are publicly available on the ICS webpage at cisa.gov/ics in the technical information paper, ICS-TIP-12-146-01B–Targeted Cyber Intrusion Detection and Mitigation Strategies.

Organizations observing suspected malicious activity should follow established internal procedures and report findings to CISA for tracking and correlation against other incidents.

5. UPDATE HISTORY

October 26, 2023: Initial Publication