CVE-2021-46835 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting the WS7200-10 device, specifically version 11.0.2.13. The vulnerability allows an attacker to hijack network traffic passing through the device. The WS7200-10 is a network device, likely a router or switch, and the vulnerability relates to improper handling of traffic that enables an attacker to intercept or redirect packets. The CVE is associated with CWE-294, which indicates an authentication bypass or improper authentication mechanism. The CVSS vector (CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N) shows that the attack requires adjacent network access (AV:A), has low attack complexity (AC:L), requires no privileges (PR:N), and no user interaction (UI:N). The scope is unchanged (S:U), and the impact is limited to integrity (I:L) with no confidentiality or availability impact. No known exploits are reported in the wild, and no patches are currently linked, suggesting that remediation may be pending or not publicly available. The vulnerability could allow an attacker on the same or adjacent network segment to hijack packets, potentially enabling man-in-the-middle attacks or traffic manipulation. This could compromise the integrity of communications passing through the WS7200-10 device, affecting network reliability and trustworthiness.

For European organizations, the impact of this vulnerability depends on the deployment of WS7200-10 devices within their network infrastructure. Organizations using this device in critical network segments could face risks of traffic interception and manipulation, leading to potential data tampering or unauthorized command injection in network communications. While confidentiality is not directly impacted, integrity loss can disrupt business operations, cause data corruption, or facilitate further attacks such as session hijacking or injection of malicious payloads. This is particularly concerning for sectors with high network security requirements such as finance, telecommunications, government, and critical infrastructure. The requirement for adjacent network access limits remote exploitation but insider threats or compromised internal networks could leverage this vulnerability. The absence of known exploits reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the threat, especially if attackers develop exploits in the future. European organizations should assess their network architecture to identify WS7200-10 devices and evaluate exposure to adjacent network attackers.

1. Network Segmentation: Isolate WS7200-10 devices in secure network segments with strict access controls to limit adjacent network access only to trusted devices and personnel. 2. Monitoring and Detection: Implement network traffic monitoring to detect unusual packet redirection or hijacking attempts around WS7200-10 devices. 3. Firmware Updates: Engage with the device vendor or manufacturer to obtain patches or firmware updates addressing CVE-2021-46835. If no official patch is available, consider temporary mitigations such as disabling vulnerable features or replacing affected devices. 4. Access Controls: Enforce strict authentication and authorization policies on network management interfaces to prevent unauthorized configuration changes that could facilitate exploitation. 5. Incident Response Preparedness: Prepare incident response plans for potential traffic hijacking scenarios, including forensic capabilities to analyze network traffic integrity. 6. Network Hardening: Use encryption protocols (e.g., IPsec, TLS) for sensitive communications traversing the WS7200-10 to reduce the impact of traffic hijacking by ensuring data integrity and authenticity at higher layers.