CVE-2004-2377 in OmniSwitch
Summary
by MITRE
Alcatel OmniSwitch 7000 and 7800 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (reboot) via certain network scans, as demonstrated using a Nessus port scan of ports 1 through 1024 with safe-checks disabled.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/27/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2004-2377 affects Alcatel OmniSwitch 7000 and 7800 network switches, representing a significant denial of service weakness that can be exploited remotely by attackers. This flaw manifests when specific network scanning activities are conducted against the affected devices, particularly demonstrating exploitable behavior during Nessus port scans targeting ports 1 through 1024 with safe-checks disabled. The vulnerability operates at the network switch level, where normal network reconnaissance activities can trigger unexpected system behavior leading to complete device reboot cycles.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and error handling within the switch's network scanning response mechanisms. When the affected switches receive specially crafted network traffic during port scanning operations, their processing routines fail to properly handle the incoming packets, resulting in system instability and subsequent automatic reboot. This represents a classic buffer overflow or improper state handling issue that falls under the broader category of software defects that can be exploited to cause system unavailability. The vulnerability demonstrates how seemingly benign network reconnaissance activities can be weaponized to disrupt network operations and compromise availability.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability creates substantial risk for network infrastructure reliability and business continuity. Organizations relying on Alcatel OmniSwitch 7000 and 7800 devices face potential service disruption when attackers or unauthorized users conduct port scanning activities against their network. The automatic reboot behavior can occur without any explicit malicious intent from the scanning party, making the vulnerability particularly concerning as it can be triggered by routine network maintenance activities or automated security scanning tools. This issue directly impacts the availability component of the CIA triad and can result in extended network downtime, particularly in mission-critical environments where continuous network operation is essential.
The vulnerability aligns with several cybersecurity frameworks and threat modeling concepts, particularly relating to CWE-122 which addresses buffer overflow conditions, and ATT&CK technique T1499 which covers network disruption attacks. Organizations should implement network segmentation to isolate affected switches from critical network segments and deploy intrusion detection systems to monitor for suspicious scanning activities. Network administrators should also consider disabling unnecessary services and ports on these devices, implementing proper access controls, and maintaining up-to-date firmware versions from Alcatel to address this vulnerability. The remediation approach should include immediate firmware upgrades when available, along with network monitoring to detect and prevent exploitation attempts.