CVE-2016-9354 in DACenter
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in Moxa DACenter Versions 1.4 and older. A specially crafted project file may cause the program to crash because of Uncontrolled Resource Consumption.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/14/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-9354 affects Moxa DACenter versions 1.4 and earlier, representing a critical resource consumption flaw that can lead to denial of service conditions. This issue manifests when the application processes specially crafted project files that trigger uncontrolled resource consumption, ultimately causing the program to crash and potentially disrupting operational continuity for users relying on this industrial automation management software. The vulnerability resides within the file processing mechanisms of the DACenter application, where inadequate input validation and resource management practices allow maliciously constructed project files to exhaust system resources.
This flaw corresponds to CWE-400, which specifically addresses Uncontrolled Resource Consumption, a well-documented weakness in software systems where applications fail to properly manage or limit resource usage during processing of external inputs. The vulnerability operates through a classic resource exhaustion attack vector where the malicious project file contains constructs that cause the application to consume excessive memory, CPU cycles, or other system resources without proper bounds checking or resource limiting mechanisms. The crash occurs when the application's resource management subsystem cannot handle the abnormal resource demands imposed by the crafted input, leading to application termination and potential system instability.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risks in industrial environments where Moxa DACenter is deployed for network management and device configuration. The denial of service condition can disrupt critical infrastructure operations, particularly in scenarios where the application manages multiple industrial devices and network components. Attackers could exploit this vulnerability to repeatedly crash the application, causing service interruptions that may affect monitoring capabilities, device management functions, and overall system reliability. The impact extends beyond simple application crashes to potentially compromise operational continuity in industrial control systems where uptime and reliability are paramount for maintaining production processes.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2016-9354 should focus on immediate software updates to versions that address the resource consumption flaw, as well as implementing input validation controls and resource monitoring mechanisms. Organizations should consider deploying network segmentation to limit access to the affected application and implementing automated monitoring for unusual resource consumption patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability also aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.004 which covers Network Denial of Service, where adversaries seek to disrupt services through resource exhaustion attacks. System administrators should also implement proper access controls and privilege separation to limit the potential impact of such attacks, while maintaining detailed logging of application behavior to detect anomalous resource usage patterns that could indicate exploitation attempts.