CVE-2013-2825 in Director Industrial Communication Gateway
Summary
by MITRE
The DNP3 service in the Outstation component on Elecsys Director Gateway devices with kernel 2.6.32.11ael1 and earlier allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (CPU consumption and communication outage) via crafted input.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/23/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2013-2825 affects the DNP3 service within the Outstation component of Elecsys Director Gateway devices running kernel versions 2.6.32.11ael1 and earlier. This represents a critical security flaw that enables remote attackers to execute denial of service attacks against industrial control systems. The DNP3 protocol serves as a communication standard widely used in critical infrastructure environments for supervisory control and data acquisition systems, making this vulnerability particularly concerning for operational technology networks. The affected devices operate in environments where continuous availability is paramount, such as power grid control systems, water treatment facilities, and other industrial automation deployments.
The technical flaw stems from insufficient input validation within the DNP3 service implementation on these specific gateway devices. When malicious actors submit crafted input packets to the DNP3 service, the system fails to properly process these malformed inputs, leading to excessive CPU utilization and complete communication outages. This vulnerability operates at the protocol level where the device's kernel handles incoming DNP3 messages without adequate sanitization mechanisms. The flaw essentially creates a resource exhaustion condition where the system becomes overwhelmed processing the malformed packets, causing legitimate traffic to be dropped and effectively rendering the communication channel unusable. The vulnerability manifests as a persistent CPU consumption issue that can escalate to complete system unresponsiveness, particularly when the attack is sustained or amplified through multiple concurrent connections.
The operational impact of CVE-2013-2825 extends beyond simple service disruption to potentially compromise the integrity of industrial control systems. In critical infrastructure environments, such as electric power grids or water distribution systems, the denial of service can lead to cascading failures that affect regional operations and public safety. The vulnerability affects devices that typically operate in isolated networks but may be exposed to remote attack vectors through various network connections or compromised endpoints. The attack requires minimal privileges and can be executed from external networks, making it particularly dangerous for industrial environments where security perimeters may be less strictly enforced. The communication outage resulting from this vulnerability can prevent operators from monitoring or controlling critical processes, potentially leading to safety incidents or service interruptions that can have significant economic and operational consequences.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2013-2825 should focus on both immediate protective measures and long-term architectural improvements. Organizations should implement network segmentation to isolate affected devices from general network traffic and apply access controls to limit DNP3 service exposure. The most effective immediate solution involves upgrading the kernel to version 2.6.32.11ael2 or later, which contains the necessary patches to address the input validation issues. Additionally, deploying network intrusion detection systems with signature-based detection for known DNP3 attack patterns can help identify and block malicious traffic before it impacts system availability. Security monitoring should include CPU utilization tracking and communication channel health checks to quickly detect potential exploitation attempts. From a compliance perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-129, which addresses improper validation of input boundaries, and relates to ATT&CK technique T1499.002 for network denial of service attacks. Organizations should also consider implementing redundant communication paths and backup control systems to maintain operational continuity in case of successful exploitation, as the vulnerability can potentially be leveraged as part of broader attack campaigns targeting industrial control systems.