CVE-2014-2304 in Open Floodlight SDN
Summary
by MITRE
A vulnerability in version 0.90 of the Open Floodlight SDN controller software could result in a denial of service attack and crashing of the controller service. This effect is the result of a flaw in OpenFlow protocol processing, where specific malformed and mistimed FEATURES_REPLY messages cause the controller service to not delete switch and port data from its internal tracking structures.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/17/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-2304 represents a critical denial of service weakness within the Open Floodlight SDN controller software version 0.90. This flaw resides in the OpenFlow protocol processing mechanism and specifically targets the controller's internal data management systems. The issue manifests when the controller receives malformed FEATURES_REPLY messages that are either improperly formatted or arrive at incorrect timing intervals. These particular message sequences trigger a failure in the controller's normal operational procedures, preventing the proper cleanup of switch and port information from its internal tracking structures. The Open Floodlight controller, which serves as a central management point for software-defined networking environments, becomes vulnerable to this attack vector due to its reliance on accurate OpenFlow protocol communication for network device management. This vulnerability directly impacts the controller's ability to maintain proper state information about connected network switches and their respective ports, effectively creating a memory leak scenario where stale data accumulates without proper deletion.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability demonstrates a classic case of improper input validation within protocol handling components. The flaw occurs during the processing of OpenFlow protocol messages, specifically during the features exchange phase where switches communicate their capabilities to the controller. When the controller receives malformed FEATURES_REPLY messages, it fails to properly validate the message structure and timing, leading to a cascade of failures in its internal data management systems. This behavior aligns with CWE-248, which describes improper exception handling in protocols, and represents a failure in the controller's robustness against malformed inputs. The vulnerability operates at the application layer of the network stack, where the controller processes OpenFlow protocol messages as part of its normal operational workflow. The timing aspect of this flaw suggests that the controller's state machine does not properly account for edge cases in message sequencing, leading to a condition where the controller cannot distinguish between valid and invalid messages during the feature discovery process.
The operational impact of CVE-2014-2304 extends beyond simple service disruption to potentially compromise the entire SDN infrastructure managed by the vulnerable controller. When the controller fails to delete switch and port data from its internal tracking structures, it creates a gradual degradation of service where memory consumption increases over time until the system becomes unstable or crashes completely. This condition can be exploited by malicious actors to perform sustained denial of service attacks against SDN networks, effectively rendering the controller unable to manage network traffic properly. The vulnerability affects the controller's ability to maintain accurate network topology information, which is fundamental to SDN operations and can lead to routing failures, traffic black holes, and complete network partitioning. Network administrators may find their SDN environments becoming unresponsive as the controller accumulates stale data, potentially requiring manual intervention to restart services and restore normal operation. This type of attack directly impacts the availability and reliability of SDN networks, which are increasingly critical for modern enterprise and data center infrastructures.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2014-2304 should focus on both immediate remediation and long-term architectural improvements to the controller's protocol handling capabilities. The most immediate solution involves upgrading to a patched version of the Open Floodlight controller software where the vulnerability has been addressed through proper input validation and error handling mechanisms. Organizations should implement network monitoring to detect unusual patterns in OpenFlow message exchanges that might indicate exploitation attempts, utilizing intrusion detection systems capable of identifying malformed FEATURES_REPLY messages. The controller should be configured with strict message validation rules that enforce proper OpenFlow protocol compliance and implement timeouts for feature exchange processes to prevent indefinite hanging states. Security hardening measures should include limiting the number of concurrent switch connections and implementing rate limiting for OpenFlow messages to reduce the attack surface. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1499.004, which covers network denial of service attacks, and T1566.002, which involves spearphishing with social engineering. Organizations should also consider implementing redundant controller architectures to provide failover capabilities and ensure that SDN network operations can continue even if a primary controller becomes compromised. Regular security assessments of SDN environments should include testing for similar protocol handling vulnerabilities that could affect other components in the software-defined networking ecosystem.