CVE-2016-8782 in CloudEngine 12800
Summary
by MITRE
Huawei CloudEngine 12800 V100R003C00, V100R003C10, V100R005C00, V100R005C10, V100R006C00 have a memory leak vulnerability. An unauthenticated attacker may send specific Label Distribution Protocol (LDP) packets to the devices repeatedly. Due to improper validation of some specific fields of the packet, the LDP processing module does not release the memory, resulting in memory leak.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/17/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-8782 affects Huawei CloudEngine 12800 series network switches running specific firmware versions including V100R003C00, V100R003C10, V100R005C00, V100R005C10, and V100R006C00. This memory leak vulnerability resides within the Label Distribution Protocol (LDP) processing module of these network devices, representing a critical security weakness that can be exploited by unauthenticated attackers without requiring any credentials or prior access to the system. The vulnerability stems from inadequate validation mechanisms within the LDP packet processing logic, specifically targeting certain fields within the protocol that are not properly sanitized or validated during packet handling operations.
The technical flaw manifests when an attacker sends specially crafted LDP packets to the affected Huawei switches repeatedly. These packets contain malformed or specifically constructed fields that bypass normal validation checks within the LDP processing module. As the device processes these packets, it allocates memory resources to handle the LDP information but fails to properly release this memory upon completion of processing due to the insufficient validation of packet fields. This improper memory management creates a gradual accumulation of unreleased memory blocks within the device's memory space, leading to progressive memory consumption over time. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it operates at the protocol level and does not require authentication, making it accessible to any network entity that can reach the device's LDP listening ports.
The operational impact of this memory leak vulnerability can be severe and multifaceted for network infrastructure. As memory consumption continues to increase due to repeated packet processing, the affected Huawei switches may experience gradual performance degradation, reduced network processing capabilities, and eventually complete system instability or crash. Network administrators may observe symptoms such as increased CPU utilization, slower response times, intermittent connectivity issues, and potential service interruptions across the network segments managed by these devices. The memory leak can also lead to increased network latency and packet loss as the device struggles to maintain adequate memory resources for normal operations. In extreme cases, the device may become completely unresponsive, requiring manual intervention and potentially causing significant network downtime that affects business operations and service availability.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-401, which describes improper handling of memory allocation and deallocation, specifically the failure to release memory resources properly after use. The issue also relates to the ATT&CK framework's technique T1499.004, which covers "Utilities: System Shutdown/Reboot" through resource exhaustion attacks, and T1562.001, which addresses "Impairing Defenses: Disable or Modify Tools" via memory consumption attacks. The lack of authentication requirements makes this vulnerability particularly dangerous as it can be exploited from external network positions without requiring any prior access privileges, potentially allowing attackers to disrupt critical network infrastructure. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including firmware updates from Huawei to address the memory leak in LDP processing, network segmentation to limit LDP traffic exposure, and monitoring systems to detect unusual memory consumption patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. Additionally, implementing rate limiting and packet filtering rules for LDP traffic can help reduce the impact of potential attacks while awaiting official security patches.