CVE-2010-4677 in ASA
Summary
by MITRE
emWEB on Cisco Adaptive Security Appliances (ASA) 5500 series devices with software before 8.2(3) allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (daemon crash) via a request for a document whose name contains space characters, aka Bug ID CSCsy08416.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/30/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2010-4677 affects Cisco Adaptive Security Appliances (ASA) 5500 series devices running software versions prior to 8.2(3). This issue resides within the emWEB web server component that operates on these security appliances, creating a remote denial of service condition that can be exploited by unauthenticated attackers. The flaw specifically manifests when the web server processes requests for documents containing space characters in their filenames, leading to daemon crashes that disrupt network security operations.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability stems from improper input validation within the emWEB server implementation. When a remote attacker sends a request containing space characters in the document name portion of an HTTP URI, the web server fails to properly handle these special characters, resulting in a buffer overflow or memory corruption condition that causes the emWEB daemon to terminate unexpectedly. This behavior aligns with CWE-121, which describes stack-based buffer overflow conditions, and represents a classic example of inadequate input sanitization in web server components. The vulnerability operates at the application layer and requires no authentication to exploit, making it particularly dangerous in network security contexts where availability is critical.
The operational impact of CVE-2010-4677 extends beyond simple service disruption, as the emWEB daemon crash can compromise the overall security posture of the network infrastructure. When the web server crashes, administrators lose access to the web-based management interface for configuring and monitoring the ASA device, which can delay critical security operations and incident response activities. The vulnerability affects the availability aspect of the CIA triad, potentially leaving network administrators unable to perform essential configuration changes or monitor security events during an attack. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1499.004 (Network Denial of Service) and T1566.001 (Phishing via Social Engineering), as it can be leveraged to create service disruption that may mask other attack activities or force administrators into emergency response procedures.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including upgrading to Cisco ASA software version 8.2(3) or later, which contains the necessary patches to address the input validation flaw. Network administrators should also consider disabling the emWEB service entirely if web-based management is not required, as this eliminates the attack surface for this specific vulnerability. Additional defensive measures include implementing network monitoring to detect unusual traffic patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts, and establishing incident response procedures for handling service disruptions on critical security appliances. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper input validation in network security devices and highlights the need for regular software updates to address known weaknesses in security infrastructure components.