CVE-2005-4258 in Catalyst 8510msr
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified Cisco Catalyst Switches allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (device crash) via an IP packet with the same source and destination IPs and ports, and with the SYN flag set (aka LanD). NOTE: the provenance of this issue is unknown; the details are obtained solely from the BID.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/05/2017
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2005-4258 represents a significant denial of service flaw affecting unspecified Cisco Catalyst Switches that can be exploited remotely by attackers. This vulnerability operates through a specific packet construction technique that leverages the TCP protocol's SYN flag in combination with malformed IP address and port information. The attack vector specifically targets the switch's handling of packets where the source and destination IP addresses and ports are identical, creating a condition that triggers device instability and eventual system crash.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from the switch's failure to properly validate incoming packets before processing them through the network stack. When a switch receives a packet with identical source and destination IP addresses and ports, along with the SYN flag set, it creates a condition that can cause the device's TCP/IP stack to enter an infinite loop or memory corruption state. This particular combination of packet attributes constitutes what security researchers have termed the LanD attack, where the term "Land" refers to the self-referential nature of the packet addressing. The vulnerability operates at the network layer and can affect the switch's ability to maintain normal forwarding operations, ultimately leading to complete service disruption.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service interruption to potentially compromise network availability and reliability for organizations relying on Cisco Catalyst switches for network infrastructure. When exploited successfully, the attack causes the affected switch to crash and restart, creating network outages that can persist until manual intervention occurs. Network administrators may experience significant downtime as the switch attempts to recover from the malformed packet processing, and the frequency of such attacks can lead to sustained service degradation. This vulnerability particularly affects enterprise and data center environments where switch reliability is critical for maintaining business continuity and network operations.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on implementing network access control measures and packet filtering rules that prevent malformed packets from reaching the vulnerable switches. Network administrators should configure firewall rules to drop packets with identical source and destination IP addresses and ports, effectively blocking the attack vector before it can be processed by the switch. The implementation of ingress and egress filtering mechanisms, combined with proper network segmentation, can significantly reduce the risk of exploitation. Additionally, organizations should maintain updated firmware versions of their Cisco Catalyst switches and monitor network traffic for suspicious patterns that may indicate attempted exploitation of this vulnerability. The remediation approach aligns with security best practices outlined in the cybersecurity framework and addresses the specific weakness identified in the switch's packet processing implementation, which corresponds to CWE-129 and CWE-131 categories related to improper input validation and buffer overflow conditions.