CVE-2004-0219 in OpenBSD
Summary
by MITRE
isakmpd in OpenBSD 3.4 and earlier allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) via an ISAKMP packet with a malformed IPSEC SA payload, as demonstrated by the Striker ISAKMP Protocol Test Suite.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/19/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2004-0219 affects the isakmpd daemon in OpenBSD versions 3.4 and earlier, representing a critical denial of service flaw within the Internet Security Association and Key Management Protocol implementation. This vulnerability specifically targets the ISAKMP packet processing functionality where malformed IPSEC SA payloads can trigger system crashes. The issue was demonstrated through the Striker ISAKMP Protocol Test Suite, which systematically tests ISAKMP implementations for various security flaws and protocol violations.
The technical flaw resides in the insufficient input validation and error handling mechanisms within the isakmpd daemon's packet parsing routines. When processing ISAKMP packets containing malformed IPSEC SA payloads, the daemon fails to properly validate the structure and content of these payloads before attempting to process them. This lack of proper sanitization allows attackers to craft specially crafted packets that cause memory corruption or invalid pointer dereferences within the daemon's execution context. The vulnerability specifically affects the handling of Security Association payloads which are fundamental components of the IPsec protocol suite used for establishing secure communications channels.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption as it can be exploited remotely without authentication, making it particularly dangerous in network environments where ISAKMP services are exposed to untrusted networks. The crash resulting from this vulnerability effectively renders the affected OpenBSD system unable to process legitimate ISAKMP negotiations, thereby breaking IPsec tunnel establishment capabilities for all users. This denial of service condition can be exploited repeatedly, potentially causing sustained disruption to network security services and requiring system administrators to restart the isakmpd service manually. The vulnerability affects the broader IPsec infrastructure since ISAKMP is the protocol used for negotiating security associations between communicating parties in IPsec implementations.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-121, which describes heap-based buffer overflow conditions, and CWE-122, which covers buffer overflow vulnerabilities in stack-based memory. The flaw also maps to ATT&CK technique T1499.004, which involves network denial of service attacks through protocol manipulation. The attack surface is particularly concerning as ISAKMP services are commonly exposed in enterprise environments, and the vulnerability can be exploited through simple packet crafting without requiring advanced privileges or specific knowledge of the target system's internal state. Organizations running affected OpenBSD versions should immediately apply the available security patches, as the vulnerability has been widely documented and the exploit techniques are readily available in public security research repositories.
The remediation approach requires immediate patch application to OpenBSD systems running affected versions, with administrators implementing network segmentation to limit exposure of ISAKMP services to trusted networks only. Additional monitoring should be implemented to detect unusual ISAKMP traffic patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. System administrators should also consider implementing intrusion detection systems that can identify malformed ISAKMP packets and alert on potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability highlights the importance of proper input validation in security-critical network services and demonstrates how protocol implementation flaws can result in complete service disruption rather than merely data compromise.