CVE-2012-0368 in 2106 Wireless Lan Controller
Summary
by MITRE
The administrative management interface on Cisco Wireless LAN Controller (WLC) devices with software 4.x, 5.x, 6.0, and 7.0 before 7.0.220.0, 7.1 before 7.1.91.0, and 7.2 before 7.2.103.0 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (device crash) via a malformed URL in an HTTP request, aka Bug ID CSCts81997.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/26/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2012-0368 represents a critical denial of service flaw affecting Cisco Wireless LAN Controller devices operating within specific software versions. This vulnerability resides within the administrative management interface of these network devices, creating a pathway for remote attackers to disrupt service availability. The affected software versions span across multiple release lines including 4.x, 5.x, 6.0, and 7.0 through 7.2, with specific patch thresholds defined for each major version. The flaw manifests when the system processes malformed URL content within HTTP requests, leading to unexpected behavior and ultimately device instability.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation within the web server component of the Cisco WLC software stack. When a remote attacker crafts a specially malformed URL and submits it through an HTTP request to the administrative interface, the system fails to properly sanitize or reject the malformed input. This processing error triggers an internal state corruption or memory management issue that results in the device crashing and becoming unavailable. The vulnerability operates at the application layer and specifically targets the HTTP server functionality responsible for handling administrative requests, making it particularly dangerous as it can be exploited without requiring authentication credentials or physical access to the device.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption to potentially compromise network infrastructure availability and business continuity. Organizations relying on Cisco WLC devices for wireless network management face significant risk when these devices become unresponsive due to the denial of service attack. The remote exploitation capability means that attackers can target these devices from anywhere on the network, potentially causing widespread disruption to wireless services. The vulnerability affects the core management functionality of the wireless controllers, which could prevent network administrators from performing essential maintenance, configuration changes, or troubleshooting activities during an attack. This creates a cascading effect where network availability is severely impacted, potentially affecting thousands of wireless users who depend on the affected network infrastructure.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2012-0368 require immediate implementation of software updates and network segmentation measures to protect affected devices. Cisco released patches addressing this vulnerability in specific versions including 7.0.220.0, 7.1.91.0, and 7.2.103.0, which must be deployed across all affected WLC devices. Network administrators should prioritize patching operations and conduct thorough testing to ensure that updates do not introduce compatibility issues with existing network configurations. Additionally, implementing network segmentation through firewalls and access control lists can limit exposure by restricting direct access to the administrative interfaces from untrusted networks. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-129, Input Validation, and represents a variant of the broader category of buffer overflows and memory corruption issues that attackers frequently exploit to achieve denial of service conditions. Organizations should also consider implementing intrusion detection systems that can identify and alert on suspicious HTTP request patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts, aligning with ATT&CK technique T1499 for network denial of service attacks.