Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Some Hirschmann HiLCOS Classic switches can expose administrative passwords when SNMPv1/v2 password synchronization is enabled. Because the credentials may travel in plaintext or appear in configuration data, a local network attacker could recover them and take over switch administration.
Executive priority
Treat this as a high-priority network infrastructure issue. It can expose switch administrator credentials without authentication from adjacent access, which may undermine segmentation and operational availability even though active exploitation is not cited.
Technical view
CVE-2016-15058 is a CWE-257 credential exposure issue affecting Hirschmann HiLCOS Classic Platform switches before 09.0.06 for Classic L2E/L2P/L3E/L3P and before 05.3.07 for Classic L2B. The issue involves synchronization of user passwords with SNMPv1/v2 community strings, creating plaintext credential exposure when enabled.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely in industrial or enterprise networks using Hirschmann HiLCOS Classic Platform switches with SNMPv1/v2 password synchronization enabled, especially where management traffic is reachable from adjacent local networks.
Exploitation context
The bundle does not cite active exploitation and KEV status is false. Practical abuse requires local or adjacent network access or access to configuration data, but successful credential recovery could enable unauthorized administrative access to affected switches.
Researcher notes
The source bundle contains inconsistent machine-readable affected-version entries, but the narrative states affected releases are before 09.0.06 and before 05.3.07 for L2B. Validate against Belden advisory and asset firmware before closure.
Mitigation direction
- Identify affected Hirschmann HiLCOS Classic switches and firmware versions.
- Upgrade L2E/L2P/L3E/L3P devices to 09.0.06 or later where applicable.
- Upgrade Classic L2B devices to 05.3.07 or later where applicable.
- Review Belden guidance before changing SNMP or password synchronization settings.
- Restrict switch management and SNMP access to trusted administrative networks.
- Rotate exposed switch credentials after remediation.
Validation and detection
- Inventory device models, firmware versions, and management interfaces.
- Confirm whether SNMPv1/v2 and password synchronization are enabled.
- Review configuration handling for stored plaintext or synchronized credentials.
- Check logs for unexpected administrative access or SNMP management activity.
- Verify remediated devices report vendor-fixed firmware versions.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-257: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCredential and access behavior lookup
The CVE wording references authentication or credential exposure, so valid-account and credential-access review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2016-15058 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 8.6 (4.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:A/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
SSVC decision data
CVSS vector scores
2 official scoresWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:4.0/AV:A/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N——VulnCheckCVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N2.85.2VulnCheckVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 4.0 score
8.6HighVector: CVSS:4.0/AV:A/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Base CVSS 3.1 score
8.1HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
Vulnerability timeline
Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.
- CVE reservedCVE Program
The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.
- CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
- CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.
ADP provider summaries
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://assets.belden.com/m/1d8273c6205dc400/original/Security-Bulletin-Password-Sync-SNMP-v1-v2-BSECV-2016-12.pdfCVE reference, VulnCheck · vendor-advisory
- https://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/507216CVE reference, VulnCheck
- https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/hirschmann-hilcos-classic-platform-password-exposure-via-snmpCVE reference, VulnCheck · third-party-advisory
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Storing Passwords in a Recoverable Format
Storing Passwords in a Recoverable Format represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.