CVE-2015-8139 in ntp
Summary
by MITRE
ntpq in NTP before 4.2.8p7 allows remote attackers to obtain origin timestamps and then impersonate peers via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/06/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-8139 affects the ntpq utility within the Network Time Protocol suite, specifically versions prior to 4.2.8p7. This issue represents a significant security flaw that undermines the integrity of time synchronization communications by enabling remote attackers to extract origin timestamps from network time protocol peers. The ntpq utility serves as a command-line tool for querying and controlling NTP daemon operations, making it a critical component in network time management infrastructure. When exploited, this vulnerability allows adversaries to gather temporal information that can be leveraged to craft deceptive network communications.
The technical flaw stems from insufficient validation and handling of timestamp information within the ntpq utility's interaction with NTP peers. Attackers can exploit unspecified vectors to obtain origin timestamps, which contain critical temporal metadata that identifies when packets were originally sent by the time source. This information, when combined with other network reconnaissance data, enables attackers to construct convincing impersonation attacks against legitimate NTP peers. The vulnerability operates at the protocol level where timestamp information is exchanged between time synchronization clients and servers, creating opportunities for man-in-the-middle attacks that can compromise the authenticity of time data.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it enables sophisticated impersonation attacks that can disrupt network time synchronization services. When attackers successfully obtain origin timestamps, they can manipulate their network traffic to appear as legitimate time sources, potentially causing time servers to accept incorrect time data or misconfigure their synchronization parameters. This compromise affects the fundamental trust model of NTP implementations, as it allows adversaries to inject false temporal information into time synchronization networks, potentially leading to cascading failures in systems that depend on accurate timekeeping for security operations, logging, and cryptographic functions.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2015-8139 primarily focus on upgrading to NTP version 4.2.8p7 or later, which includes patches addressing the timestamp handling vulnerabilities. Network administrators should also implement proper access controls to limit ntpq utility usage to trusted administrative networks and consider deploying NTP authentication mechanisms such as symmetric key cryptography or MD5 authentication to add additional layers of protection. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-200, which addresses improper exposure of sensitive information, and relates to ATT&CK technique T1562.001, which covers "Impairing Security Tools" through manipulation of time synchronization protocols. Organizations should also conduct regular security assessments of their time synchronization infrastructure to identify and remediate similar vulnerabilities that could enable broader network compromise through temporal data manipulation attacks.