CVE-2004-1434 in ONS 15454 Optical Transport Platform
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple versions of Cisco ONS 15327, ONS 15454, and ONS 15454 SDH, including 4.1(0) to 4.1(2), 4.5(x), 4.0(0) to 4.0(2), and earlier versions, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (control card reset) via malformed SNMP packets.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/22/2025
The vulnerability described in CVE-2004-1434 represents a critical denial of service weakness affecting Cisco's ONS 15327, ONS 15454, and ONS 15454 SDH network equipment across multiple software versions. This issue specifically targets the SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) implementation within these telecommunications devices, creating a scenario where unauthorized remote attackers can disrupt network operations through carefully crafted malformed packets. The affected versions span from 4.1(0) through 4.1(2), 4.5(x), 4.0(0) through 4.0(2), and earlier releases, indicating this weakness has persisted across several software iterations and represents a fundamental flaw in the network management protocol handling capabilities of these systems.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through the manipulation of SNMP packets, which are standard protocols used for network monitoring and management. When these devices receive malformed SNMP packets, the parsing mechanism fails to properly validate incoming data structures, leading to unexpected behavior in the control card components. This failure manifests as an automatic reset of the control card, effectively removing the device from operational service and creating network disruption. The vulnerability falls under CWE-121, which describes heap-based buffer overflow conditions, and more specifically aligns with CWE-129, buffer underflows, as the system does not properly validate input boundaries when processing SNMP requests. The control card reset represents a cascading failure that can impact entire network segments depending on the role these devices play in the infrastructure.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risk to network availability and reliability, particularly in telecommunications environments where uptime is critical. The remote attack vector means that adversaries do not require physical access or local network presence to exploit this weakness, making it particularly dangerous for mission-critical infrastructure. The impact extends beyond simple service interruption as the control card reset can lead to extended network downtime while system administrators must perform manual recovery procedures. Network operators relying on these Cisco devices for their core infrastructure may experience service degradation or complete outages, especially during peak usage periods. The vulnerability also creates potential for additional security implications as network administrators may be distracted by the service disruption while the attack is occurring.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should prioritize immediate software updates and patches provided by Cisco to address the SNMP packet validation issues. Organizations should implement network segmentation and access controls to limit exposure to unauthorized SNMP traffic, particularly by configuring firewalls to restrict SNMP access to trusted management stations only. The implementation of SNMPv3 with authentication and encryption provides additional protection against exploitation attempts, as this version addresses many of the weaknesses present in earlier SNMP implementations. Network monitoring systems should be enhanced to detect unusual SNMP traffic patterns and potential exploitation attempts, while regular vulnerability assessments should be conducted to identify similar weaknesses in other network equipment. Additionally, implementing network access control lists and disabling unnecessary SNMP services on network devices can significantly reduce the attack surface and prevent unauthorized access to the vulnerable systems.