CVE-2008-2476 in Jnos
Summary
by MITRE
The IPv6 Neighbor Discovery Protocol (NDP) implementation in (1) FreeBSD 6.3 through 7.1, (2) OpenBSD 4.2 and 4.3, (3) NetBSD, (4) Force10 FTOS before E7.7.1.1, (5) Juniper JUNOS, and (6) Wind River VxWorks 5.x through 6.4 does not validate the origin of Neighbor Discovery messages, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (loss of connectivity) or read private network traffic via a spoofed message that modifies the Forward Information Base (FIB).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/11/2024
The vulnerability described in CVE-2008-2476 represents a critical flaw in the IPv6 Neighbor Discovery Protocol implementation across multiple operating systems and network devices. This issue stems from insufficient validation mechanisms within the Neighbor Discovery Protocol which is fundamental to IPv6 network operations. The flaw specifically affects systems that process Neighbor Advertisement and Neighbor Solicitation messages without properly verifying the authenticity of their sources, creating a pathway for malicious actors to manipulate network routing behavior.
The technical implementation flaw resides in the failure to validate the origin of Neighbor Discovery messages, which is a core requirement for maintaining network integrity. When systems accept and process these messages without proper authentication checks, attackers can craft and inject spoofed Neighbor Discovery packets that appear to originate from legitimate network nodes. This vulnerability directly impacts the Forward Information Base which serves as the routing table for IPv6 networks, allowing attackers to redirect traffic or disrupt connectivity by modifying routing entries with maliciously crafted information.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability enables remote attackers to execute both denial of service attacks and passive information gathering operations. The denial of service component results in complete loss of network connectivity as legitimate routing information is overwritten by malicious entries, effectively isolating affected systems from network communication. Additionally, the ability to read private network traffic emerges from the modification of routing tables that can redirect packets to attacker-controlled systems, potentially exposing sensitive data flows. This vulnerability affects a wide range of network infrastructure including enterprise routers, network operating systems, and embedded devices, making it particularly dangerous in production environments.
The security implications extend beyond simple connectivity disruption as this vulnerability can be exploited to create persistent network manipulation capabilities. Attackers can leverage this flaw to establish man-in-the-middle positions within IPv6 networks, potentially intercepting and modifying traffic between legitimate network participants. The widespread presence of this vulnerability across multiple vendors and operating systems demonstrates a systemic weakness in IPv6 implementation standards and highlights the importance of proper protocol validation. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including network segmentation, access control list restrictions on neighbor discovery traffic, and deployment of network monitoring solutions to detect anomalous neighbor discovery message patterns. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-284 (Improper Access Control) and can be mapped to ATT&CK technique T1046 (Network Service Scanning) and T1566 (Phishing with Social Engineering) when used as part of broader attack campaigns.
The remediation approach requires comprehensive patch management across all affected platforms including FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD, Force10 FTOS, Juniper JUNOS, and Wind River VxWorks systems. Network administrators should also implement strict filtering of neighbor discovery messages at network boundaries and consider deploying intrusion detection systems specifically configured to monitor for neighbor discovery protocol anomalies. Regular network audits should verify that routing tables have not been compromised and that neighbor discovery messages are properly authenticated. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper protocol implementation in network security and serves as a reminder that even fundamental network protocols require robust validation mechanisms to prevent exploitation by malicious actors.