CVE-2020-16216 Explained : Impact and Mitigation

This CVE involves vulnerabilities in Philips patient monitoring devices due to improper input validation, potentially leading to denial-of-service conditions.

Understanding CVE-2020-16216

This vulnerability affects various versions of IntelliVue patient monitors and IntelliVue devices by Philips.

What is CVE-2020-16216?

In Philips patient monitoring devices, including IntelliVue patient monitors and IntelliVue devices, the system fails to properly validate input data, which can result in a denial-of-service scenario through system restarts.

The Impact of CVE-2020-16216

The vulnerability can be exploited to induce denial-of-service conditions, affecting the availability and functionality of the affected devices.

Technical Details of CVE-2020-16216

This section provides more in-depth technical information about the vulnerability.

Vulnerability Description

The products affected by this CVE receive input data without adequate validation, potentially leading to system restarts and denial-of-service situations.

Affected Systems and Versions

IntelliVue patient monitors affected versions: MX100, MX400-550, MX600, MX700, MX750, MX800, MX850, MP2-MP90
IntelliVue devices affected versions: X2, X3

Exploitation Mechanism

The vulnerability is exploited by providing unvalidated input data to the affected devices, triggering system restarts and denial-of-service conditions.

Mitigation and Prevention

To address and prevent the vulnerabilities associated with CVE-2020-16216, follow the recommendations below.

Immediate Steps to Take

Physically or logically isolate the Philips patient monitoring network from the hospital LAN using firewalls or routers with access control lists.
Ensure the simple certificate enrollment protocol (SCEP) service is not running unless actively needed.
Use unique challenge passwords when enrolling new devices via SCEP.
Implement physical security controls to prevent unauthorized access.
Limit remote access to essential functions only.

Long-Term Security Practices

Grant login privileges based on roles and least privilege principles.
Contact Philips service support for specific installation questions and upgrade paths.

Patching and Updates

Philips has released remediation versions for affected devices to address the vulnerabilities.
Monitor the Philips product security website for the latest security information and advisories.