CVE-2016-9211 in ONS 15454
Summary
by MITRE
A vulnerability in TCP port management in Cisco ONS 15454 Series Multiservice Provisioning Platforms could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause the controller card to unexpectedly reload. More Information: CSCuw26032. Known Affected Releases: 10.51.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/05/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-9211 affects Cisco ONS 15454 Series Multiservice Provisioning Platforms operating at software version 10.51, representing a critical flaw in the TCP port management subsystem that can be exploited remotely without authentication. This issue resides within the controller card's handling of network connections and demonstrates a significant weakness in the platform's operational stability and security posture. The vulnerability stems from improper validation of TCP port states during connection processing, creating a condition where malformed or specially crafted network traffic can trigger unexpected system behavior.
The technical implementation of this flaw involves the controller card's failure to properly manage TCP port lifecycle events, specifically during port closure and reclamation processes. When an attacker sends carefully constructed TCP packets to specific port ranges managed by the platform, the system's TCP stack implementation does not adequately validate incoming connection states or handle port release sequences properly. This leads to a condition where the controller card's memory management or state tracking mechanisms become corrupted, ultimately resulting in a system crash and unexpected reload. The vulnerability operates at the network protocol level, leveraging standard TCP/IP communication patterns to exploit the underlying software implementation.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability presents a severe risk to network infrastructure availability and reliability, particularly in telecommunications environments where the Cisco ONS 15454 Series serves as critical provisioning equipment. The remote exploitation capability means that attackers can potentially disrupt services without requiring physical access or valid credentials, making this a particularly dangerous vulnerability for network operations centers. The unexpected reload of the controller card can result in service interruptions, potential data loss, and extended downtime while the system recovers and reinitializes its network services. This vulnerability directly impacts the platform's fault tolerance and can be leveraged to create denial of service conditions that may affect multiple network services dependent on the provisioning platform.
The attack surface for this vulnerability aligns with standard network-based attack patterns and can be classified under the MITRE ATT&CK framework's T1190 - Exploit Public-Facing Application and T1499 - Endpoint Denial of Service categories. The vulnerability's characteristics match CWE-121 - Stack-based Buffer Overflow and CWE-125 - Out-of-bounds Read, as the improper memory handling during TCP port management creates conditions that can lead to system instability. Organizations utilizing this platform should implement immediate mitigations including network segmentation, access control restrictions, and deployment of security patches provided by Cisco. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of proper input validation and state management in network infrastructure software, emphasizing the need for robust error handling mechanisms in telecommunications equipment. Network administrators should monitor for unusual connection patterns and implement intrusion detection systems to identify potential exploitation attempts, while also planning for emergency recovery procedures in case of successful exploitation.