CVE-2011-1323 in Rt58i
Summary
by MITRE
Yamaha RTX, RT, SRT, RTV, RTW, and RTA series routers with firmware 6.x through 10.x, and NEC IP38X series routers with firmware 6.x through 10.x, do not properly handle IP header options, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (device reboot) via a crafted option that triggers access to an invalid memory location.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/09/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2011-1323 affects a significant range of network infrastructure devices including Yamaha RTX, RT, SRT, RTV, RTW, and RTA series routers along with NEC IP38X series routers. These devices operate within the 6.x through 10.x firmware versions, representing a broad attack surface across multiple vendors and product lines. The flaw resides in how these network devices process IP header options, specifically failing to properly validate or sanitize incoming packet data that contains crafted IP options. This vulnerability represents a classic buffer overflow condition where malformed input triggers memory access violations, leading to system instability.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through the manipulation of IP header options in network packets sent to the affected routers. When these devices receive packets containing specially crafted IP options, they attempt to process these malformed headers without proper bounds checking or validation mechanisms. The improper handling results in access to invalid memory locations, causing the router's operating system to crash and subsequently reboot. This behavior aligns with CWE-125, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions, and represents a denial of service attack pattern consistent with ATT&CK technique T1499.002 for network denial of service. The vulnerability demonstrates a critical weakness in input validation and memory management within the network stack processing components of these embedded systems.
The operational impact of CVE-2011-1323 extends beyond simple service disruption, as it can lead to complete network outages in environments where these routers serve as critical infrastructure components. Organizations relying on these devices for network connectivity may experience extended downtime during the reboot process, potentially disrupting business operations and communication services. The remote nature of the attack means that threat actors can exploit this vulnerability from external networks without requiring physical access or authentication credentials, making it particularly dangerous for enterprise and industrial networks. Network administrators may face challenges in detecting such attacks since they appear as legitimate network traffic, and the automatic reboot behavior can obscure the true nature of the incident.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate firmware updates from vendors, as the root cause lies within the device firmware implementations. Network administrators should implement network segmentation and access controls to limit exposure of these devices to untrusted networks, while also deploying intrusion detection systems that can identify anomalous packet patterns associated with IP option manipulation. The solution approach aligns with defensive techniques described in ATT&CK framework under T1562.001 for disabling or circumventing security tools, though in this case the mitigation involves updating security controls rather than disabling them. Organizations should also establish monitoring procedures to detect repeated device reboots or unusual network behavior that might indicate exploitation attempts, while maintaining detailed logs of network traffic for forensic analysis and incident response purposes.