CVE-2008-2171 in AX router
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in AlaxalA AX routers allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (dropped session) via crafted BGP UPDATE messages, leading to route flapping, possibly a related issue to CVE-2007-6372.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/25/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2008-2171 represents a critical flaw in Alaxala AX router implementations that enables remote attackers to disrupt network operations through carefully crafted Border Gateway Protocol UPDATE messages. This weakness falls under the broader category of network protocol vulnerabilities that can severely impact routing stability and network availability. The affected routers are susceptible to malformed BGP UPDATE packets that trigger unexpected behavior in the routing daemon, resulting in session termination and subsequent network disruption. The vulnerability demonstrates the inherent risks associated with complex routing protocols and their implementation in enterprise networking equipment.
Technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs when an attacker crafts specific BGP UPDATE messages that contain malformed attributes or unexpected data patterns that the Alaxala AX router's BGP implementation cannot properly handle. The router processes these malicious packets and subsequently drops the BGP session, causing immediate disruption to routing information exchange. This session termination leads to route flapping behavior where network paths oscillate between available and unavailable states, creating instability in the routing table and potentially affecting traffic flow across the network. The issue is particularly concerning because BGP is fundamental to internet routing operations, and disruptions to BGP sessions can cascade across multiple network domains.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption to encompass potential network instability and performance degradation. When BGP sessions drop due to crafted UPDATE messages, the affected router must re-establish connections and re-synchronize routing information with peers, creating temporary black holes in network connectivity. Route flapping caused by this vulnerability can trigger unnecessary traffic engineering decisions and may cause other routers in the network to recalculate optimal paths, leading to increased CPU utilization and network overhead. Network administrators may experience difficulty in troubleshooting as the symptoms manifest as intermittent routing issues rather than clear failure conditions, complicating incident response and mitigation efforts.
Network security professionals should implement immediate mitigations including BGP message filtering and validation mechanisms to prevent malformed UPDATE packets from reaching vulnerable routers. The implementation of BGP route filtering and prefix validation can help prevent the propagation of malicious UPDATE messages while maintaining network connectivity. Organizations should also consider deploying BGP monitoring solutions that can detect unusual session termination patterns and route flapping behavior. From a defensive perspective, this vulnerability aligns with attack patterns described in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the network service providers and remote service exploits domains, specifically targeting the availability of critical network infrastructure. The vulnerability also relates to CWE-129, which addresses improper validation of input data, and CWE-20, which covers input validation issues in software implementations. Regular firmware updates and security patches from Alaxala should be prioritized to address this vulnerability and similar issues that may affect routing protocol implementations.