CVE-2020-16224 : Exploit Details and Defense Strategies

Patient Information Center iX (PICiX) Versions B.02, C.02, C.03, PerformanceBridge Focal Point Version A.01, IntelliVue patient monitors MX100, MX400-MX850, and MP2-MP90 Versions N and prior, IntelliVue X3 and X2 Versions N and prior. The software parses a formatted message or structure but does not handle or incorrectly handles a length field that is inconsistent with the actual length of the associated data, causing the application on the surveillance station to restart.

Understanding CVE-2020-16224

This CVE involves vulnerabilities in Philips Patient Information Center iX (PICiX) and other related devices due to improper handling of length parameter inconsistency.

What is CVE-2020-16224?

In Patient Information Center iX (PICiX) Versions C.02, C.03, the software parses a formatted message or structure but does not handle or incorrectly handles a length field that is inconsistent with the actual length of the associated data, causing the application on the surveillance station to restart.

The Impact of CVE-2020-16224

The vulnerability can lead to the application on the surveillance station restarting, potentially causing disruptions in patient monitoring and data processing.

Technical Details of CVE-2020-16224

This section provides detailed technical information about the vulnerability.

Vulnerability Description

The software fails to handle a length field properly, leading to application restarts on the surveillance station.

Affected Systems and Versions

Patient Information Center iX (PICiX) Versions C.02, C.03
PerformanceBridge Focal Point Version A.01
IntelliVue patient monitors MX100, MX400-MX850, and MP2-MP90 Versions N and prior
IntelliVue X3 and X2 Versions N and prior

Exploitation Mechanism

The vulnerability is exploited by providing a formatted message or structure with an inconsistent length field, triggering the application restart.

Mitigation and Prevention

Protect your systems from CVE-2020-16224 with the following measures:

Immediate Steps to Take

Isolate the patient monitoring network from the hospital LAN using firewalls or routers.
Ensure the simple certificate enrollment protocol (SCEP) service is not running unnecessarily.
Use unique challenge passwords for device enrollment.
Implement physical security controls to prevent unauthorized access.
Restrict remote access to essential purposes only.
Grant login privileges based on roles and least privilege principles.

Long-Term Security Practices

Maintain physical security controls.
Regularly review and update access controls.
Train staff on security best practices.

Patching and Updates

Philips released remediation in Patient Information Center iX (PICiX) Version C.03.
Certificate revocation within the system was implemented for PIC iX.