CVE-2014-7255 in SEIL X86 Fuji
Summary
by MITRE
Internet Initiative Japan Inc. SEIL Series routers SEIL/X1 2.50 through 4.62, SEIL/X2 2.50 through 4.62, SEIL/B1 2.50 through 4.62, and SEIL/x86 Fuji 1.70 through 3.22 allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (CPU and traffic consumption) via a large number of NTP requests within a short time, which causes unnecessary NTP responses to be sent.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/07/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-7255 affects a range of Internet Initiative Japan Inc. SEIL Series routers including models SEIL/X1, SEIL/X2, SEIL/B1, and SEIL/x86 Fuji. These devices are designed for enterprise and networking environments, providing routing capabilities for various network infrastructures. The affected versions span from SEIL/X1 2.50 through 4.62, SEIL/X2 2.50 through 4.62, SEIL/B1 2.50 through 4.62, and SEIL/x86 Fuji 1.70 through 3.22, indicating a widespread issue across multiple product lines. This vulnerability represents a significant concern for network administrators who rely on these devices for critical infrastructure operations.
The technical flaw stems from the router's insufficient handling of Network Time Protocol (NTP) requests, which creates a condition where the device becomes vulnerable to resource exhaustion attacks. When remote attackers flood the router with a large volume of NTP requests within a brief timeframe, the device responds to each request with NTP responses, consuming substantial CPU cycles and network bandwidth. This behavior creates a denial of service scenario where legitimate network traffic is disrupted due to the router's inability to process normal network operations while responding to the excessive NTP traffic. The vulnerability specifically targets the NTP service implementation, which is commonly used for time synchronization across network devices.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption, as it can severely compromise network availability and performance. Attackers can exploit this weakness to consume all available CPU resources and network bandwidth, effectively rendering the router unable to forward legitimate packets or maintain normal network operations. This type of attack can be particularly damaging in enterprise environments where router reliability is critical for business operations, potentially causing cascading failures throughout the network infrastructure. The resource exhaustion occurs rapidly due to the high volume of NTP requests, making it difficult for network administrators to distinguish between legitimate time synchronization traffic and malicious attack traffic.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-400, which addresses "Uncontrolled Resource Consumption" and represents a classic example of a resource exhaustion attack. The attack pattern follows the tactics described in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the "Resource Exhaustion" technique, where adversaries consume system resources to prevent legitimate use of services. The attack vector specifically targets the NTP service daemon, which is a common network service that should be available and responsive. Network administrators should implement rate limiting and access control mechanisms to prevent unauthorized hosts from overwhelming the NTP service. Additionally, monitoring for unusual NTP traffic patterns can help detect potential exploitation attempts before they cause significant disruption to network operations.
The recommended mitigations include implementing NTP request rate limiting to prevent excessive traffic from overwhelming the router's processing capabilities. Network administrators should configure access control lists to restrict NTP traffic to trusted sources only, reducing the attack surface for remote exploitation. Firmware updates from Internet Initiative Japan Inc. should be applied immediately to address the underlying implementation flaw in the NTP handling code. Organizations should also implement network monitoring solutions that can detect abnormal NTP traffic patterns and automatically trigger alerts when resource consumption exceeds normal thresholds. Regular security assessments of network infrastructure components should include evaluation of NTP service configurations to ensure proper protection against similar vulnerabilities that may exist in other network services.