CVE-2012-0378 in ASA
Summary
by MITRE
Cisco Adaptive Security Appliances (ASA) 5500 series devices with software 8.0 through 8.4 allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (connection limit exceeded) by triggering a large number of stale connections that result in an incorrect value for an MPF connection count, aka Bug ID CSCtv19854.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/20/2017
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2012-0378 affects Cisco Adaptive Security Appliances (ASA) 5500 series devices operating with software versions 8.0 through 8.4. This flaw represents a significant denial of service weakness that can be exploited remotely by attackers to disrupt network services. The vulnerability specifically impacts the device's handling of connection management within its Multi-Processing Framework (MPF) component, creating a condition where stale connections are not properly accounted for in the connection count mechanism. This misconfiguration leads to an incorrect calculation of active connections, ultimately causing the system to exhaust its connection handling capacity. The flaw falls under the category of improper handling of connection states and resource management within network security appliances, which aligns with CWE-400 - Uncontrolled Resource Consumption and CWE-770 - Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the MPF connection count mechanism failing to properly decrement the connection counter when stale connections are encountered. When attackers generate a large volume of connections that eventually become stale, the system maintains incorrect accounting of active connections, leading to a scenario where legitimate connection requests are denied service. The bug manifests when the MPF component incorrectly maintains connection state information, causing the device to believe it has reached its connection limit even when the actual number of active connections is significantly lower. This improper state management creates a cascading effect where the device becomes unable to process new legitimate connections, effectively rendering the network security appliance non-functional for its primary purpose of protecting network traffic.
The operational impact of CVE-2012-0378 is severe and directly affects network availability and business continuity. Organizations relying on Cisco ASA 5500 series appliances for network security protection face potential service disruption that can last from minutes to hours depending on the scale of the attack and the device's configuration. The vulnerability can be exploited by remote attackers without requiring authentication, making it particularly dangerous as it can be triggered from anywhere on the internet. This characteristic places the entire network infrastructure at risk, potentially allowing attackers to disrupt critical business operations, especially in environments where network security appliances are essential for maintaining secure communication channels. The attack vector specifically targets the connection management subsystem, which is fundamental to the device's operation, making the impact particularly devastating.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate implementation of Cisco's recommended patches and updates to software versions that address the MPF connection count calculation error. Organizations should also implement connection rate limiting and monitoring mechanisms to detect abnormal connection patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. Network administrators should configure appropriate connection tracking parameters and establish baseline connection metrics to quickly identify when the system is approaching its limits. Additionally, implementing network segmentation and access control measures can help limit the potential impact of such attacks by reducing the attack surface. The remediation process should include thorough testing of updated firmware in controlled environments before deployment to production systems, ensuring that the patch does not introduce compatibility issues with existing network configurations. This vulnerability highlights the importance of maintaining current security patches and proper network monitoring as recommended by the ATT&CK framework's defense evasion and resource exhaustion tactics, particularly in enterprise security infrastructure management.