CVE-2002-1596 in SN 5420 Storage Router
Summary
by MITRE
Cisco SN 5420 Storage Router 1.1(5) and earlier allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (router crash) via an HTTP request with large headers.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/21/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2002-1596 affects Cisco SN 5420 Storage Router running software versions 1.1(5) and earlier, representing a critical denial of service weakness that can be exploited remotely. This issue manifests when the affected device receives an HTTP request containing excessively large headers, leading to a complete system crash and subsequent denial of service condition. The vulnerability demonstrates a fundamental flaw in the router's HTTP processing capabilities, where inadequate input validation and buffer management mechanisms fail to handle oversized header data appropriately. The impact extends beyond simple service disruption as the device becomes completely unresponsive, requiring manual intervention for recovery and potentially causing extended downtime for network operations that depend on this storage routing infrastructure.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability stems from insufficient bounds checking within the HTTP request processing module of the Cisco SN 5420 Storage Router. When the device encounters HTTP headers exceeding predetermined size limits, the system's memory management routines fail to properly handle the oversized data structure, resulting in memory corruption or stack overflow conditions. This type of vulnerability aligns with CWE-122, which describes buffer overflow conditions where insufficient bounds checking allows attackers to write data beyond allocated memory boundaries. The flaw represents a classic example of improper input validation that can be exploited through crafted HTTP requests, making it particularly dangerous in network environments where storage routers serve as critical infrastructure components for data flow management.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability creates significant risk for organizations relying on Cisco SN 5420 Storage Routers for their storage networking operations. The remote exploit capability means that attackers can trigger the denial of service condition without requiring physical access or local network presence, making it particularly attractive for malicious actors seeking to disrupt storage network services. Network administrators face the challenge of maintaining continuous availability of storage infrastructure while dealing with the unpredictability of such remote attacks. The vulnerability also poses risks to data integrity and business continuity, as storage router failures can cascade into broader network disruptions affecting multiple services that depend on the storage network infrastructure.
The exploitation of this vulnerability follows patterns consistent with ATT&CK technique T1498, which involves breaking or tampering with systems to cause denial of service. Attackers can leverage this weakness by sending specially crafted HTTP requests containing headers of excessive size to the vulnerable device, triggering the memory corruption that results in system crash. Mitigation strategies should focus on implementing network segmentation to isolate critical storage routers from untrusted network segments, applying the latest firmware updates from Cisco that address this specific vulnerability, and configuring network access controls to limit HTTP request processing capabilities. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing intrusion detection systems that can monitor for unusual HTTP header patterns and establish emergency response procedures for rapid recovery from service disruption events. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the importance of robust input validation and memory management practices in network infrastructure devices, particularly those handling web-based management interfaces that must process untrusted data from remote sources.