CVE-2014-8323 in Aircrack-ng
Summary
by MITRE
buddy-ng.c in Aircrack-ng before 1.2 Beta 3 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (segmentation fault) via a response with a crafted length parameter.
If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/24/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-8323 resides within the buddy-ng.c component of Aircrack-ng, a widely used wireless network security auditing tool suite. This flaw represents a classic buffer overflow condition that manifests as a segmentation fault during normal operation. The issue specifically affects versions of Aircrack-ng prior to 1.2 Beta 3, indicating that it was a known vulnerability that required patching to maintain system stability and security integrity.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through manipulation of network packets during wireless network analysis operations. Remote attackers can craft malicious response packets containing specially formatted length parameters that trigger unexpected behavior in the packet processing logic. When the buddy-ng.c module encounters these crafted parameters, it fails to properly validate the input data before attempting to process it, leading to memory corruption that ultimately results in a segmentation fault and subsequent application crash.
This denial of service condition has significant operational implications for wireless network security professionals who rely on Aircrack-ng for penetration testing and network auditing activities. The vulnerability effectively allows an attacker to disrupt legitimate network analysis operations by causing the target system to crash repeatedly. The remote nature of the attack means that adversaries can exploit this flaw without requiring physical access to the target system, making it particularly dangerous in environments where wireless network monitoring is critical. From a cybersecurity perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-121, which describes stack-based buffer overflow conditions, and represents a direct threat to system availability as outlined in the ATT&CK framework under the denial of service tactic.
The impact extends beyond simple application instability, as network security teams may find their monitoring tools become unreliable during critical security assessments. This can lead to missed security vulnerabilities, incomplete audit trails, and potentially compromise the overall security posture of wireless networks under examination. Organizations relying on Aircrack-ng for legitimate security testing must ensure they maintain updated versions to prevent exploitation of this vulnerability, as the segmentation fault can occur during active network monitoring sessions, potentially disrupting ongoing security operations and creating false negatives in vulnerability assessments.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability primarily involve upgrading to Aircrack-ng version 1.2 Beta 3 or later, where the input validation issues have been addressed. System administrators should also implement network monitoring solutions that can detect and alert on anomalous packet patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. Additionally, network security teams should consider implementing defensive measures such as rate limiting and packet filtering to reduce the attack surface and prevent exploitation of similar buffer overflow conditions in other network analysis tools. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date security tools and implementing proper input validation practices in network security applications to prevent exploitation of memory corruption vulnerabilities.