CVE-2014-5327 in E5332
Summary
by MITRE
Buffer overflow in the Webserver component on the Huawei E5332 router before 21.344.27.00.1080 allows remote authenticated users to cause a denial of service (reboot) via a long URI.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/08/2019
The Huawei E5332 router presents a critical buffer overflow vulnerability within its webserver component that affects firmware versions prior to 21.344.27.00.1080. This vulnerability resides in the handling of Uniform Resource Identifiers within the device's web interface, creating a security risk that can be exploited by remote authenticated attackers. The flaw manifests when the webserver processes excessively long URIs, leading to memory corruption that ultimately results in system instability and unintended device rebooting. This represents a significant concern for network administrators who rely on these devices for connectivity and security services, as the vulnerability can be triggered without requiring physical access or advanced exploitation techniques.
The technical implementation of this buffer overflow occurs within the webserver component's URI parsing mechanism where input validation fails to properly constrain the length of incoming URI parameters. When an authenticated user submits a malformed URI containing excessive data, the webserver's memory management routines overflow the allocated buffer space, causing unpredictable behavior in the device's execution flow. This particular vulnerability aligns with CWE-121, which describes stack-based buffer overflow conditions, and also relates to CWE-122, which covers heap-based buffer overflow scenarios. The operational impact extends beyond simple denial of service as the repeated exploitation could potentially lead to persistent service disruption, forcing network administrators to perform manual device resets and potentially affecting network availability for connected users.
The attack vector requires only authenticated access to the device's web interface, making this vulnerability particularly concerning for environments where administrative credentials might be compromised or where unauthorized users gain access to legitimate accounts. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to T1210 - Exploitation of Remote Services, specifically targeting the web server service running on the device. The exploitation process involves crafting a specially formatted URI request that exceeds the buffer capacity, triggering the overflow condition and causing the device to restart automatically. This behavior aligns with the T1499.004 category of ATT&CK, which covers network denial of service attacks, though the implementation differs as it specifically targets the device's webserver rather than network infrastructure. Network administrators should consider this vulnerability as part of their broader security posture assessment, particularly when evaluating the risk of authenticated remote code execution scenarios.
Mitigation strategies should prioritize immediate firmware updates to version 21.344.27.00.1080 or later, which contains the necessary patches to address the buffer overflow condition in the webserver component. Additionally, network segmentation and access control measures should be implemented to limit the scope of potential exploitation by restricting access to the device's administrative interface. Security monitoring should include detection of anomalous URI patterns and repeated connection attempts that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of regular security assessments and patch management processes, as it demonstrates how seemingly minor implementation flaws in webserver components can result in significant operational impacts. Organizations should also consider implementing network-based intrusion detection systems that can identify and alert on suspicious URI patterns that could indicate exploitation attempts against this specific vulnerability.