CVE-2008-3651 in Linux
Summary
by MITRE
Memory leak in racoon/proposal.c in the racoon daemon in ipsec-tools before 0.7.1 allows remote authenticated users to cause a denial of service (memory consumption) via invalid proposals.
Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/16/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2008-3651 represents a critical memory leak flaw within the racoon daemon component of ipsec-tools software suite. This daemon serves as a key component in Internet Protocol Security implementations, responsible for managing Security Associations and handling IKE (Internet Key Exchange) protocol operations. The vulnerability specifically resides in the proposal.c file, which processes and validates IKE proposals during the security negotiation phase between IPSec peers. The flaw affects versions of ipsec-tools prior to 0.7.1, making it a long-standing issue that persisted across multiple releases of the software.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation within the racoon daemon's proposal handling mechanism. When remote authenticated users submit malformed or invalid IKE proposals, the daemon fails to properly release allocated memory resources during the processing of these invalid inputs. This memory leak occurs because the software does not adequately check the validity of proposal parameters before allocating memory for processing, and subsequently fails to clean up memory allocations when encountering invalid data. The flaw essentially creates a scenario where each malicious proposal consumes additional memory without proper cleanup, leading to progressive memory consumption over time.
The operational impact of this vulnerability manifests as a gradual degradation of system performance followed by complete denial of service conditions. As the racoon daemon continues to process invalid proposals, memory consumption increases steadily until system resources are exhausted. This behavior creates a predictable and exploitable condition that attackers can leverage to systematically consume available memory on systems running vulnerable versions of ipsec-tools. The vulnerability affects systems that rely on IPSec for secure communications, particularly those implementing IKE-based security associations, making it a significant concern for network security infrastructure.
From a cybersecurity perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-401, which specifically addresses improper handling of memory allocation and deallocation issues. The flaw demonstrates characteristics consistent with resource exhaustion attack patterns documented in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the T1499 category for resource exhaustion attacks. Organizations utilizing IPSec infrastructure with vulnerable racoon implementations face potential exposure to sustained denial of service attacks that can render their security services unavailable. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple service disruption as it can compromise the integrity of security communications and potentially provide attackers with opportunities to escalate their attacks.
The recommended mitigation strategy involves immediate upgrading to ipsec-tools version 0.7.1 or later, which includes patches addressing the memory leak in the proposal.c file. System administrators should also implement monitoring mechanisms to detect unusual memory consumption patterns in IPSec daemons and establish automated alerting for memory usage thresholds. Network segmentation and access controls should be reinforced to limit the number of authenticated users who can submit proposals to the racoon daemon, thereby reducing the attack surface. Additionally, regular security assessments of IPSec implementations should include verification of software versions and patch status to prevent similar vulnerabilities from persisting in network security infrastructure.