CVE-2002-0505 in Call Manager
Summary
by MITRE
Memory leak in the Call Telephony Integration (CTI) Framework authentication for Cisco CallManager 3.0 and 3.1 before 3.1(3) allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash and reload) via a series of authentication failures, e.g. via incorrect passwords.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/17/2019
The vulnerability described in CVE-2002-0505 represents a critical memory management flaw within Cisco CallManager's Call Telephony Integration framework. This issue specifically affects versions 3.0 and 3.1 before 3.1(3) where the CTI authentication mechanism fails to properly handle memory allocation during repeated authentication attempts. The flaw manifests as a progressive memory leak that occurs with each failed authentication attempt, ultimately leading to system instability and complete service disruption.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate memory cleanup procedures within the CTI framework's authentication subsystem. When remote attackers submit incorrect authentication credentials repeatedly, the system allocates memory resources to process each failed attempt but fails to properly release this memory back to the system heap. This memory consumption grows progressively with each successive authentication failure, eventually exhausting available memory resources and forcing the Cisco CallManager service to crash and automatically reload.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents a significant denial of service risk that can be exploited with minimal technical expertise. Attackers require only basic network access to the affected Cisco CallManager systems and can trigger the memory leak through simple authentication brute force attempts. The impact extends beyond simple service disruption as the automatic system reload process can cause temporary loss of telephony services, potentially affecting business operations and communication infrastructure. The vulnerability affects the core telephony infrastructure, making it particularly dangerous for organizations relying heavily on voice communication systems.
The weakness aligns with CWE-401, which specifically addresses improper handling of memory allocation failures in software systems. This classification emphasizes the fundamental flaw in resource management practices within the Cisco CallManager implementation. From an adversarial perspective, this vulnerability maps to ATT&CK technique T1499.004, which covers network denial of service attacks through resource exhaustion. The attack vector requires no specialized tools beyond standard network connectivity and can be executed automatically through scripting tools, making it particularly dangerous for unpatched systems.
Mitigation strategies should include immediate deployment of Cisco's security patches, specifically the 3.1(3) release that addresses this memory leak issue. Network administrators should implement authentication rate limiting and account lockout mechanisms to prevent automated brute force attacks from exploiting this vulnerability. Additionally, monitoring systems should be configured to detect unusual authentication failure patterns that could indicate exploitation attempts. The recommended approach combines both preventive measures through patch management and defensive controls to protect against exploitation attempts while ensuring continued service availability for legitimate users.