CVE-2010-2979 in Unified Wireless Network Solution Software
Summary
by MITRE
Cisco Unified Wireless Network (UWN) Solution 7.x before 7.0.98.0 on 5508 series controllers allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (buffer leak and device crash) via ARP requests that trigger an ARP storm, aka Bug ID CSCte43508.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/04/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2010-2979 affects Cisco Unified Wireless Network Solution version 7.x prior to 7.0.98.0 running on 5508 series wireless controllers. This represents a critical denial of service flaw that can be exploited remotely by attackers to disrupt wireless network operations. The vulnerability specifically manifests when the system receives ARP requests that trigger an ARP storm condition, leading to buffer leaks and ultimately causing the device to crash. The issue is particularly concerning for enterprise wireless infrastructure as it directly impacts network availability and reliability.
The technical flaw resides in the wireless controller's handling of Address Resolution Protocol requests within the 5508 series hardware platform. When an attacker sends specially crafted ARP requests to the affected device, the system enters an ARP storm condition where it continuously processes these requests without proper rate limiting or resource management. This leads to progressive buffer exhaustion as the system allocates memory resources to handle the excessive ARP traffic. The buffer leak occurs because the controller fails to properly clean up memory resources allocated for ARP processing, causing gradual memory depletion that eventually results in system instability and complete device crash. This vulnerability operates at the network protocol level and demonstrates poor input validation and resource management practices in the wireless controller firmware.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple network disruption to potentially compromise business continuity for organizations relying on wireless infrastructure. When the 5508 series controller crashes due to ARP storm exploitation, it can cause complete wireless service outages affecting thousands of connected devices including laptops, smartphones, tablets, and IoT devices. The remote nature of the attack means that adversaries can exploit this vulnerability from outside the network perimeter without requiring physical access or authentication credentials. This makes the vulnerability particularly dangerous for large enterprises, healthcare facilities, educational institutions, and any organization where wireless connectivity is critical for operations. The impact is exacerbated by the fact that such controllers often serve as central points of control for multiple access points and wireless networks, potentially causing cascading failures throughout the entire wireless infrastructure.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2010-2979 should prioritize immediate firmware updates to version 7.0.98.0 or later, which contain patches addressing the ARP storm handling vulnerability. Network administrators should implement rate limiting mechanisms on the wireless network to restrict the number of ARP requests that can be processed within a given time period. The implementation of intrusion detection systems that can identify and block ARP storm patterns provides an additional layer of protection. Organizations should also consider deploying network segmentation strategies to limit the scope of potential attacks and reduce the impact of successful exploitation. From a compliance perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-129, which addresses improper handling of input data leading to buffer overflow conditions, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1499.002 for network denial of service attacks. The vulnerability also demonstrates characteristics of CWE-362, which covers concurrent execution using shared resource access issues, as the buffer management problems occur during concurrent ARP request processing. Regular network monitoring and baseline establishment for normal ARP traffic patterns will help detect anomalous behavior indicative of this attack vector.