CVE-2014-3673 in Linux
Summary
by MITRE • 01/25/2023
The SCTP implementation in the Linux kernel through 3.17.2 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (system crash) via a malformed ASCONF chunk, related to net/sctp/sm_make_chunk.c and net/sctp/sm_statefuns.c.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/25/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-3673 represents a critical denial of service flaw within the Linux kernel's Stream Control Transmission Protocol implementation. This issue affects kernel versions through 3.17.2 and stems from improper handling of malformed ASCONF chunks during SCTP state machine processing. The vulnerability specifically manifests in the net/sctp/sm_make_chunk.c and net/sctp/sm_statefuns.c source files where the kernel fails to adequately validate incoming ASCONF chunk parameters before processing them within the state transition functions.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs when a remote attacker crafts and transmits a malformed ASCONF chunk to a targeted system running a vulnerable Linux kernel version. The ASCONF chunk serves as a control mechanism in SCTP for adding or removing addresses from an association, but the kernel's implementation lacks proper input validation checks. When the kernel attempts to process this malformed chunk through the state machine functions, it encounters unexpected data structures that trigger memory corruption or invalid state transitions. This leads to a kernel panic or system crash, effectively rendering the target system unavailable to legitimate users and resulting in a complete denial of service condition.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risks to systems relying on SCTP for critical communications, particularly in telecommunications infrastructure, network equipment, and applications that utilize SCTP for reliable data transmission. The remote nature of the attack means that adversaries can exploit this vulnerability from outside the network perimeter without requiring authentication or local access. Systems running vulnerable kernel versions are immediately at risk, with the potential for cascading failures in network infrastructure where SCTP is extensively used. The vulnerability's severity is amplified by the fact that it can be triggered through simple network traffic without requiring any special privileges or complex attack vectors.
The underlying flaw aligns with CWE-121, which describes heap-based buffer overflow conditions, and CWE-122, which covers buffer overflow vulnerabilities in heap data structures. This vulnerability also maps to ATT&CK technique T1499.004, which encompasses network denial of service attacks, and T1070.006, related to indicator removal on systems. The root cause lies in insufficient bounds checking and input validation within the SCTP implementation, specifically in the state machine processing functions that handle association configuration updates. Organizations should immediately apply kernel updates to versions patched against this vulnerability, typically kernel releases 3.17.3 and later. Additionally, network segmentation and firewall rules can provide temporary mitigation by restricting SCTP traffic to necessary systems only, while monitoring for anomalous ASCONF chunk patterns may help detect potential exploitation attempts.