CVE-2013-0714 in VxWorks
Summary
by MITRE
IPSSH (aka the SSH server) in Wind River VxWorks 6.5 through 6.9 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (daemon hang) via a crafted public-key authentication request.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/01/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2013-0714 affects the IPSSH implementation within Wind River VxWorks operating systems versions 6.5 through 6.9. This represents a critical security flaw in the embedded systems environment where the SSH daemon fails to properly validate public-key authentication requests. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation mechanisms within the authentication process, creating a pathway for malicious actors to exploit the system through crafted requests that can either execute arbitrary code or induce a daemon hang condition. The impact extends beyond simple authentication failures as it fundamentally compromises the integrity and availability of the embedded system's secure communication channels.
The technical flaw manifests in the improper handling of malformed public-key authentication data during the SSH handshake process. When a remote attacker submits a specially crafted public-key authentication request, the IPSSH daemon processes this input without adequate sanitization or bounds checking, leading to memory corruption or control flow manipulation. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-129, which addresses insufficient input validation, and specifically demonstrates weaknesses in input sanitization and error handling within cryptographic authentication mechanisms. The daemon's failure to properly validate the structure and content of public-key data creates opportunities for buffer overflows, stack corruption, or other memory-related issues that can be leveraged to achieve remote code execution.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe for embedded systems deployed in critical infrastructure environments where Wind River VxWorks operates. Systems utilizing affected versions may experience complete compromise through remote code execution, allowing attackers to gain unauthorized access to sensitive embedded devices and potentially escalate privileges to root level access. Additionally, the denial of service component can cause persistent daemon hangs that render the system's secure communication capabilities unavailable, creating operational disruptions in mission-critical applications. Organizations using these embedded systems for industrial control, medical devices, or network infrastructure face significant risk of system compromise or service interruption, particularly in environments where physical security is paramount.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2013-0714 should prioritize immediate patching of affected VxWorks versions to the latest releases containing security fixes. System administrators must implement network segmentation and access controls to limit exposure of affected SSH daemons to trusted networks only. Monitoring for suspicious authentication attempts and implementing intrusion detection systems can help identify exploitation attempts. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under T1566 for credential access and T1499 for network denial of service, indicating the need for comprehensive security monitoring. Organizations should also consider disabling SSH public-key authentication temporarily if not essential, implementing strong authentication methods, and conducting thorough vulnerability assessments of their embedded environments to identify similar weaknesses in other system components. Regular security updates and vulnerability management processes are essential to prevent exploitation of similar flaws in embedded system implementations.