CVE-2001-0019 in Content Services Switch
Summary
by MITRE
Arrowpoint (aka Cisco Content Services, or CSS) allows local users to cause a denial of service via a long argument to the "show script," "clear script," "show archive," "clear archive," "show log," or "clear log" commands.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/25/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2001-0019 affects Cisco Content Services (CSS) appliances, formerly known as Arrowpoint devices, which are network security appliances designed for content switching and load balancing. These appliances operate as critical components in enterprise network infrastructures, handling traffic distribution and content delivery across multiple servers. The vulnerability stems from improper input validation within several administrative command interfaces that manage script execution, archive operations, and logging functions. This weakness specifically manifests when local users provide excessively long arguments to commands such as show script, clear script, show archive, clear archive, show log, and clear log. The affected system processes these commands without adequate boundary checking, leading to buffer overflow conditions that can crash the device and render it unavailable to legitimate users.
The technical flaw represents a classic buffer overflow vulnerability that aligns with CWE-121, which describes heap-based buffer overflow conditions where insufficient bounds checking allows attackers to overwrite adjacent memory locations. This particular implementation vulnerability occurs in the command-line interface processing logic of the CSS appliance, where command arguments are directly copied into fixed-size buffers without proper length validation. The impact extends beyond simple service disruption as the device becomes unresponsive to legitimate administrative requests, potentially causing extended downtime for network services that depend on the appliance. The vulnerability affects local users who have access to the device's command-line interface, meaning that any individual with sufficient privileges to execute these commands can exploit the weakness. This creates a significant risk in environments where administrative access is not properly restricted or where privilege escalation has occurred.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability represents a serious threat to network availability and business continuity. When exploited, the denial of service condition can persist until manual intervention occurs through physical access or remote management interfaces that may also be affected. The impact extends to enterprise networks that rely heavily on content switching appliances for traffic management, potentially causing cascading failures in service delivery. Organizations may experience disruptions to web services, application availability, and overall network performance as dependent systems lose connectivity to the affected appliance. The vulnerability also presents challenges for network administrators who must balance the need for administrative access with security considerations, as the attack vector requires local access to the device, making it less likely to be exploited remotely but still dangerous in compromised environments.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on implementing proper input validation and boundary checking within the affected command processing functions. Network administrators should ensure that all command-line arguments are strictly validated against maximum length parameters before processing, implementing proper buffer management techniques to prevent overflow conditions. System hardening measures including restricting local administrative access to only trusted personnel, implementing robust access control lists, and maintaining up-to-date firmware versions that address known vulnerabilities should be prioritized. Organizations should also consider implementing network segmentation to limit the potential impact of such vulnerabilities and establish monitoring procedures to detect unauthorized access attempts. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1068, which covers 'Exploitation for Privilege Escalation' and T1499, covering 'Endpoint Termination' through denial of service attacks. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify similar weaknesses in other network infrastructure components, particularly those implementing similar command-line processing interfaces. Given the age of this vulnerability, organizations should ensure that their legacy Cisco CSS appliances are either properly patched or replaced with modern security solutions that incorporate proper input validation and defensive programming practices.