CVE-2013-5919 in Suricata
Summary
by MITRE
Suricata before 1.4.6 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) via a malformed SSL record.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/22/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2013-5919 represents a critical denial of service flaw affecting Suricata network intrusion detection system versions prior to 1.4.6. This vulnerability specifically targets the SSL/TLS processing functionality within Suricata, creating a condition where malformed SSL records can trigger unexpected system behavior leading to complete service disruption. The issue stems from insufficient input validation and error handling mechanisms within the SSL record parsing component of the network security appliance.
The technical flaw manifests when Suricata encounters SSL records that do not conform to expected protocol specifications or contain malformed data structures. During the processing of these invalid records, the system fails to properly validate the input data before attempting to parse or interpret the SSL record content. This lack of proper sanitization creates a condition where the parser encounters unexpected data patterns that cause memory corruption or stack overflow conditions. The vulnerability is classified as a buffer over-read or improper input validation issue that falls under CWE-129, which addresses insufficient validation of length of input data, and CWE-248, which covers exposure of exception information to an unauthorized actor.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risk to organizations relying on Suricata for network monitoring and intrusion detection. Remote attackers can exploit this flaw by sending specifically crafted malformed SSL records to the target system, causing the service to crash and terminate unexpectedly. This results in immediate denial of service for network traffic monitoring capabilities, potentially leaving network infrastructure unprotected during the restart period. The attack requires minimal privileges and can be executed from any network location capable of reaching the Suricata system, making it particularly dangerous for publicly accessible network monitoring appliances.
The impact extends beyond simple service disruption as organizations may experience loss of network visibility and potential gaps in security monitoring during the crash and recovery phases. Network administrators may not immediately detect the attack if monitoring systems are also affected, leading to extended periods of reduced security posture. This vulnerability particularly affects organizations using Suricata in high-availability environments where service continuity is critical, as the system may require manual intervention to restore normal operations.
Mitigation strategies should prioritize immediate patching of affected Suricata installations to version 1.4.6 or later, which contains the necessary input validation fixes and improved error handling for SSL record processing. Organizations should also implement network segmentation to limit exposure of critical Suricata systems to untrusted networks and consider deploying additional monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts. The fix typically involves implementing proper bounds checking on SSL record data, adding robust input validation routines, and ensuring graceful error handling that prevents system crashes during malformed input processing. Network security teams should also review their incident response procedures to ensure rapid recovery from such denial of service events and consider implementing redundant monitoring systems to maintain security coverage during potential outages.
This vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper input validation in security-critical systems and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.004, which covers network disruption attacks through service exhaustion or system crashes. The flaw also relates to defensive techniques that should be implemented to prevent similar issues in other network security tools, emphasizing the need for comprehensive security testing and validation of protocol handling components in intrusion detection systems.