CVE-2004-1454 in IOS
Summary
by MITRE
Cisco IOS 12.0S, 12.2, and 12.3, with Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) enabled, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (device reload) via a malformed OSPF packet.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/06/2025
Cisco IOS versions 12.0S, 12.2, and 12.3 contain a critical vulnerability in their OSPF implementation that enables remote attackers to trigger unauthorized device reloads through carefully crafted malformed packets. This vulnerability represents a classic buffer overflow condition within the OSPF routing protocol processing module, where insufficient input validation allows maliciously constructed OSPF packets to exploit memory corruption flaws in the router's routing daemon. The flaw specifically manifests when the affected IOS versions process malformed OSPF Hello packets or Link State Update messages that contain oversized or improperly formatted data structures. This vulnerability directly maps to CWE-121, which describes heap-based buffer overflow conditions, and falls under the broader category of CWE-125, representing out-of-bounds read errors. The attack vector is particularly dangerous because it requires no authentication and can be executed from any network location where the attacker can inject OSPF packets into the routing domain, making it a significant threat to network infrastructure availability.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends far beyond simple service disruption, as it can lead to complete network outages and cascading failures across interconnected routing domains. When exploited successfully, the malformed OSPF packet causes the router to crash and automatically reload, potentially disrupting critical network services and requiring manual intervention to restore normal operations. This type of denial of service attack can be particularly devastating in enterprise and service provider networks where OSPF is widely deployed for internal routing. The vulnerability's exploitation can occur through various methods including packet injection from external networks or through compromised internal hosts that have access to the OSPF routing domain. Network administrators may observe symptoms such as routing table instability, frequent routing protocol convergence events, or complete routing protocol failures before the device reboots. The attack can be executed with minimal network knowledge, making it accessible to adversaries with basic networking skills and potentially automated tools.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate implementation of network security controls and firmware updates. Cisco has released patches and software updates specifically addressing this issue, which should be deployed across all affected IOS versions without delay. Network administrators should implement OSPF packet filtering at network boundaries to prevent malformed packets from entering the routing domain, utilizing access control lists or firewall rules that inspect OSPF packet headers and validate packet structures. The implementation of OSPF authentication mechanisms can also provide an additional layer of protection by ensuring that only authorized routing updates are processed. From an operational perspective, network monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual OSPF packet patterns or routing instability that may indicate exploitation attempts. Organizations should consider implementing network segmentation to limit the impact of such attacks and maintain detailed logs of routing protocol activities for forensic analysis. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of network resilience planning and disaster recovery procedures, as network outages caused by such exploits can have cascading effects throughout interconnected systems. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability aligns with techniques such as T1499.004 for network disruption and T1562.001 for disabling defenses, making it a significant concern for organizations implementing comprehensive cybersecurity frameworks. Regular vulnerability assessments and network penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar issues in other network protocols and devices within the infrastructure.