CVE-2015-4408 in NVR DS-76xxNI-E1
Summary
by MITRE
Buffer overflow on Hikvision NVR DS-76xxNI-E1/2 and DS-77xxxNI-E4 devices before 3.4.0 allows remote authenticated users to cause a denial of service (service interruption) via a crafted HTTP request, aka the ISAPI issue.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/06/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-4408 represents a critical buffer overflow flaw affecting Hikvision network video recorder devices, specifically the DS-76xxNI-E1/2 and DS-77xxxNI-E4 models. This vulnerability resides within the ISAPI (Internet Server API) component of the affected firmware versions prior to 3.4.0, creating a significant security risk for surveillance systems deployed in enterprise and industrial environments. The flaw enables remote authenticated attackers to exploit the buffer overflow condition through carefully crafted HTTP requests, potentially leading to system service interruption and complete denial of service.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from improper input validation within the ISAPI processing module of the Hikvision NVR devices. When the system receives a malformed HTTP request containing excessive data in specific parameters, the buffer overflow occurs during memory allocation and data processing within the ISAPI handler. This condition allows attackers who have already established authentication credentials to manipulate the device's memory management, potentially causing the service to crash or become unresponsive. The vulnerability operates at the application layer and specifically targets the HTTP server component that handles ISAPI requests, making it particularly dangerous for systems where continuous surveillance is critical.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability creates substantial risk for organizations relying on Hikvision NVR systems for security monitoring and surveillance operations. The remote authenticated nature of the exploit means that attackers with valid login credentials can trigger service interruption without requiring physical access or additional privileges. This capability can result in significant operational disruption, particularly in environments where continuous video monitoring is essential for security operations. The vulnerability effectively allows attackers to perform denial of service attacks against critical security infrastructure, potentially leaving organizations vulnerable during the period when services are unavailable.
The impact of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-121, which describes stack-based buffer overflow conditions, and can be categorized under the ATT&CK technique T1499.004 for network denial of service attacks. Organizations utilizing these affected devices face the risk of operational downtime that could compromise security monitoring capabilities, potentially creating windows of vulnerability for physical security breaches. The vulnerability demonstrates how seemingly minor implementation flaws in embedded systems can create significant operational risks, particularly in security-critical environments where system availability is paramount.
Mitigation strategies should prioritize immediate firmware updates to version 3.4.0 or later, which contain the necessary patches addressing the buffer overflow condition. Network administrators should also implement additional security controls including access control lists to restrict HTTP traffic to only necessary sources, monitoring for unusual HTTP request patterns, and implementing intrusion detection systems to identify potential exploitation attempts. Regular security assessments of network video recorder systems should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other embedded devices, as these systems often lack the security rigor found in traditional computing environments. Organizations should also consider implementing network segmentation to limit the potential impact of successful exploitation attempts.