TLS Certificate Verification Bypass in Remote Collector Configuration

Executive Summary

CVE-2026-31985 is a vulnerability in the Remote Collector software versions before v26.2.0. When configured via the n2os-tui tool to connect to an upstream Guardian or CMC, the generated configuration disables TLS certificate verification and does not provide an option to enable it.

This lack of TLS certificate validation allows a malicious actor to perform a man-in-the-middle attack, intercepting communications between the Remote Collector and the Guardian or CMC.

As a result, attackers could steal sync tokens, impersonate the server, inject spoofed data such as false asset information or vulnerabilities, or disrupt the data flow between these components.

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Impact Analysis

This vulnerability can have serious impacts including unauthorized interception of sensitive communication between the Remote Collector and Guardian or CMC.

• Theft of sync tokens which could allow attackers to gain unauthorized access.
• Impersonation of the server, misleading clients or systems relying on the Remote Collector.
• Injection of false or spoofed data, such as incorrect asset information or vulnerabilities, potentially compromising the integrity of the system.
• Disruption of data flow between the Remote Collector and Guardian or CMC, affecting system availability and reliability.

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Detection Guidance

This vulnerability occurs when the Remote Collector is configured via the n2os-tui tool and TLS certificate verification is disabled for connections to the Guardian or CMC.

To detect if your system is vulnerable, check the configuration file "n2os.conf.user" for the upstream endpoint entry. If the entry is prefixed with a "!", it indicates that TLS certificate verification is disabled.

A possible command to inspect this configuration on a Unix-like system is:

• grep '^!' /path/to/n2os.conf.user

This command searches for lines starting with "!", which disables TLS verification. If such lines are present for the upstream Guardian or CMC endpoint, the system is vulnerable.

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Mitigation Strategies

The recommended immediate mitigation is to manually edit the "n2os.conf.user" configuration file to remove the "!" prefix from the upstream endpoint entry. This action enables TLS certificate verification, preventing man-in-the-middle attacks.

Additionally, the best long-term solution is to upgrade the Remote Collector software to version 26.2.0 or later, where this vulnerability is fixed and TLS certificate verification is properly enforced.

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Compliance Impact

This vulnerability allows man-in-the-middle attacks that can lead to interception of sensitive communication, theft of sync tokens, impersonation of servers, injection of false data, or disruption of data flow between the Remote Collector and Guardian or CMC.

Such security weaknesses could potentially impact compliance with standards and regulations like GDPR and HIPAA, which require protection of data integrity and confidentiality during transmission.

However, the provided information does not explicitly state the direct effects on compliance with these standards.

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