External risk intelligence

ProSoft ICX35-HWC Authentication Bypass Vulnerability

CVE advisorySeverity: CRITICAL (CVSS 9.3)

CVE-2017-20235

The affected product is a cellular gateway designed to manage network traffic. These devices are frequently deployed as internet-facing edge appliances. The vulnerability exists in the web user interface, which is a primary, often public-facing, management mechanism for such gateways.

Authentication Bypass

Prosoft Technology Icx35 Hwc Firmware

before 1.3

Halo Surface Signal: 5 out of 5 — more likely to be public-facing.

External exposure likelihood

Horizon Alert

Summary of the vulnerability and why it matters

A critical vulnerability has been identified in ProSoft Technology cellular gateways that allows unauthenticated attackers to bypass security measures and gain administrative control. This issue impacts the web user interface, potentially exposing device configurations and settings to unauthorized access.

Unauthenticated access to administrative functions.
Affects network edge devices controlling traffic.
Confirm relevance and assess potential exposure.

Attack Path

How an attacker could exploit the issue

An attacker can remotely access the web interface of the affected cellular gateway without needing any credentials. By exploiting this authentication bypass, they can gain full administrative control over the device's configuration and settings.

Attacker exploits a web interface.
No authentication is required.
Full administrative access is granted.

Live Threat

Current exploitation, exposure, and threat context

This vulnerability could allow unauthenticated attackers to bypass the web interface's authentication, granting them full administrative control over the device's configuration and settings when accessed over a network.

Device administrative functions at risk.
Bypass authentication via web interface.
Complete device configuration control.

Operational Fix

Recommended remediation, mitigation, and detection steps

The ProSoft Technology ICX35-HWC cellular gateways, specifically versions 1.3 and prior, are susceptible to an authentication bypass vulnerability. This allows unauthenticated attackers to access administrative functions via the web interface, potentially leading to unauthorized configuration changes. Owners of these devices or the infrastructure teams managing them should prioritize identifying all instances, assessing their exposure, and planning remediation. Coordination with the vendor for firmware updates or implementation of mitigating controls will be crucial for secure operation.

Own the issue: Infrastructure or platform teams.
Verify first: Device exposure and criticality.
Action: Plan secure remediation or vendor coordination.

Supplementary metadata

CVSS vector

Validate whether this threat affects your internet-facing exposure.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the ProSoft Technology ICX35-HWC?

The ICX35-HWC is a cellular gateway used for industrial and remote connectivity. These hardware devices act as bridges, managing network traffic and providing reliable data communication between remote assets and the central infrastructure. Because they sit at the network edge, they are often used to ensure connectivity in challenging, distributed environments.

What does authentication bypass mean for CVE-2017-20235?

This vulnerability, classified as CWE-287 (Improper Authentication), means the device fails to verify who is trying to access it. Normally, administrative web panels require a username and password. In this case, an attacker can skip those checks entirely, allowing them to interact with the device’s administrative functions as if they were a legitimate, authorized user.

How is the authentication mechanism triggered?

An attacker triggers this by accessing the device's web user interface over a network connection. No special preconditions or existing credentials are required to initiate the attack; the flaw exists within the interface logic itself. Note that this flaw is specific to the web-based management portal and does not necessarily imply that every other service on the device is similarly compromised.

How does Halo Surface Signal assess this risk?

Halo Surface Signal flags this as high-priority because these cellular gateways are typically deployed as internet-facing edge appliances. Because the vulnerability resides in the web user interface—a common management point—devices left accessible via the public internet are at a much higher risk of remote, unauthorized administration than those restricted to private, internal networks.

What should I do if I manage these gateways?

First, identify all instances of ICX35-HWC within your network to determine which are running firmware version 1.3 or earlier. Once identified, restrict access to the web management interface to trusted internal networks or VPNs to reduce exposure. Finally, coordinate with ProSoft Technology to obtain and install the recommended firmware updates to permanently resolve the authentication flaw.

References

Written by Nicholas Merritt

Nicholas Merritt is VP of Security Solutions at Halo Security. With more than 25 years across application security, vulnerability prioritization, and offensive security, he helps teams translate threat data into practical exposure validation and remediation focus. He authors Halo Threat Intelligence CVE advisories using Halo Surface Signal and H/A/L/O context to prioritize internet-facing risk.