CVE-2013-3387 in Prime Central For Hosted Collaboration Solution Assurance
Summary
by MITRE
Cisco Prime Central for Hosted Collaboration Solution (HCS) Assurance 8.6 and 9.x before 9.2(1) allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (disk consumption) via a flood of TCP packets to port 5400, leading to large error-log files, aka Bug ID CSCua42724.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/09/2017
Cisco Prime Central for Hosted Collaboration Solution HCS Assurance versions 8.6 and 9.x prior to 9.2(1) contains a critical vulnerability that enables remote attackers to execute denial of service attacks through strategic manipulation of TCP packet traffic directed at port 5400. This vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and inadequate resource management within the application's network processing components. The flaw specifically affects the system's handling of malformed or excessive TCP traffic, which triggers cascading failures in the logging mechanism. When attackers flood the designated port with TCP packets, the system generates increasingly large error-log files that consume disk space at an exponential rate, ultimately leading to complete system unavailability.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-400, which addresses "Uncontrolled Resource Consumption," and demonstrates how network protocol handling can be exploited to exhaust system resources. The attack vector operates through a simple yet effective method where remote adversaries send malformed TCP packets to port 5400, which serves as the primary communication channel for the HCS Assurance application. The system's failure to properly validate incoming TCP connections and their associated data streams creates an exploitable condition that allows attackers to trigger continuous error logging. This process results in the rapid accumulation of log files that grow without bounds, eventually consuming all available disk space and rendering the system inoperable. The vulnerability represents a classic case of resource exhaustion through protocol manipulation, where the legitimate system functionality becomes overwhelmed by malicious traffic patterns.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption to encompass complete system compromise and potential business continuity issues for organizations relying on Cisco Prime Central for their hosted collaboration solutions. Network administrators face the challenge of monitoring and mitigating attacks that can occur remotely without requiring authentication or specialized knowledge of the system's internal workings. The affected versions of the software demonstrate a fundamental flaw in the error handling architecture, where error conditions are not properly bounded or logged in a controlled manner. This creates a scenario where a single attacker can cause widespread disruption across multiple systems that utilize the same vulnerable software versions. The vulnerability affects organizations that depend on centralized collaboration management systems, potentially impacting communication networks, enterprise productivity, and critical business operations.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including network-level filtering to block unauthorized traffic to port 5400, deployment of intrusion detection systems to monitor for abnormal TCP packet patterns, and implementation of disk space monitoring alerts to detect early signs of resource exhaustion. System administrators should also consider applying the vendor-provided security patches and updates as soon as they become available, specifically targeting version 9.2(1) or later releases that contain the necessary fixes. Network segmentation and access control measures should be strengthened to limit exposure of the vulnerable port to only authorized traffic sources. Additionally, implementing rate limiting mechanisms at the network perimeter can help prevent the flood of TCP packets that trigger the vulnerability. The remediation strategy should also include regular log rotation policies and disk space management procedures to ensure that even if an attack succeeds, the system can recover more quickly and maintain operational integrity. This vulnerability highlights the importance of proper resource management in network applications and demonstrates how seemingly minor protocol handling flaws can result in catastrophic system failures.