CVE-2010-2833 in IOS
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in the NAT for H.225.0 implementation in Cisco IOS 12.1 through 12.4 and 15.0 through 15.1 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (device reload) via transit traffic, aka Bug ID CSCtd86472.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/25/2021
The vulnerability described in CVE-2010-2833 represents a critical flaw in Cisco IOS implementations of the H.225.0 protocol stack, specifically within the Network Address Translation functionality. This issue affects Cisco IOS versions ranging from 12.1 through 12.4 and 15.0 through 15.1, indicating a widespread impact across multiple release series. The vulnerability manifests as a denial of service condition that can be triggered by transit traffic passing through affected devices, making it particularly dangerous in network environments where devices must process traffic from multiple sources. The unspecified nature of the vulnerability suggests it likely involves a fundamental flaw in how the NAT implementation handles certain H.225.0 signaling messages or packet processing sequences, potentially involving buffer overflows, improper state handling, or memory corruption issues.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs when remote attackers craft specific transit traffic that triggers malformed or unexpected H.225.0 packets passing through Cisco devices implementing NAT functionality. The H.225.0 protocol is commonly used in VoIP and multimedia communications for call setup and control, particularly in environments utilizing H.323 standards for voice over IP communications. When these malformed packets traverse devices with affected NAT implementations, they cause the device to crash and reload, effectively rendering the network device unavailable. This behavior aligns with CWE-121, which describes heap-based buffer overflow conditions, and CWE-122, which covers buffer overflow conditions in stack-based memory allocations. The vulnerability specifically impacts devices performing NAT operations, making it particularly concerning for network infrastructure that relies on NAT for traffic management and security.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption, as it can compromise network availability and reliability across entire network segments. When affected Cisco devices reload due to this vulnerability, they temporarily become unavailable, potentially disrupting voice communications, video conferencing, and other time-sensitive applications that depend on H.323 signaling. The denial of service condition can be triggered remotely without requiring authentication or physical access to the device, making it a significant security concern for enterprise and service provider networks. Network administrators may experience cascading failures if multiple devices in a network are affected, as the reload process can cause temporary network partitions and service interruptions. This vulnerability also relates to ATT&CK technique T1499.004, which covers network denial of service attacks, and represents a critical weakness in network infrastructure security that could be exploited by malicious actors to disrupt business operations.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate implementation of Cisco IOS patches and updates addressing the specific NAT handling issues in H.225.0 implementations. Network administrators should prioritize patching affected devices and implementing network segmentation to limit the potential impact of such attacks. The vulnerability can be partially mitigated by disabling H.225.0 processing on affected devices or implementing access control lists that filter problematic traffic patterns. Monitoring network traffic for unusual H.225.0 signaling patterns can help detect potential exploitation attempts. Organizations should also consider implementing intrusion detection systems that can identify and alert on malformed H.225.0 packets that may trigger this vulnerability. The Cisco Security Advisory for this vulnerability provides specific patch recommendations and workarounds for different IOS versions, emphasizing the importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches for network infrastructure components. Regular vulnerability assessments and network security audits should be conducted to identify and remediate similar issues in other network components that may be susceptible to similar exploitation patterns.