CVE-2017-11655 in SIPcrack
Summary
by MITRE
A memory leak was found in the way SIPcrack 0.2 handled processing of SIP traffic, because a lines array was mismanaged. A remote attacker could potentially use this flaw to crash long-running sipdump network sniffing sessions.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/06/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-11655 represents a critical memory management flaw within SIPcrack 0.2, a tool designed for analyzing Session Initiation Protocol traffic. This issue manifests in the improper handling of a lines array during SIP traffic processing, creating a persistent memory allocation problem that can accumulate over time. The vulnerability specifically affects network sniffing operations conducted through the sipdump component, which is commonly used for capturing and analyzing SIP communication patterns in security research and network monitoring contexts.
The technical root cause of this memory leak stems from inadequate memory management practices within the SIPcrack application's processing pipeline. When the application encounters SIP traffic, it maintains a lines array to store and process various protocol elements, but the array management logic fails to properly release allocated memory blocks after use. This mismanagement creates a gradual memory consumption pattern where each processed SIP message contributes to an ever-increasing memory footprint. The flaw operates at the application layer, specifically targeting the network packet processing mechanisms that handle SIP protocol communications, making it particularly dangerous in long-running network monitoring scenarios.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple resource exhaustion, as it can effectively render long-term network monitoring sessions unusable. Attackers can exploit this weakness by sending carefully crafted SIP traffic to trigger repeated memory allocation without corresponding deallocation, leading to progressive system resource depletion. In practical terms, this means that security professionals conducting extended network surveillance or penetration testing using SIPcrack may experience unexpected application crashes, system instability, or complete service disruption. The vulnerability is particularly concerning for continuous monitoring environments where the tool operates for extended periods without interruption, as the memory leak compounds over time until system resources are exhausted.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2017-11655 should focus on immediate application updates and operational procedures to prevent exploitation. The most effective approach involves upgrading to a patched version of SIPcrack that properly implements memory management for the lines array, ensuring that allocated memory is correctly released after processing. Organizations should also implement monitoring systems to track memory usage patterns in network analysis tools, enabling early detection of potential exploitation attempts. Additionally, network administrators should consider implementing rate limiting or traffic filtering mechanisms to reduce the volume of SIP traffic processed by vulnerable systems, while establishing regular system maintenance schedules to prevent memory exhaustion scenarios. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-401, which addresses improper management of memory allocation and deallocation, and represents a classic example of how memory management flaws can be exploited to create denial of service conditions in network security tools.
The broader implications of this vulnerability highlight the critical importance of proper memory management in security tools and network monitoring applications. Given that SIPcrack is used in security research and penetration testing environments, the potential for exploitation extends beyond simple disruption to include more sophisticated attack vectors that could compromise entire security infrastructure. Network defenders should treat this vulnerability as a reminder of the need for comprehensive security testing of all network analysis tools, particularly those operating in continuous monitoring modes where resource exhaustion can have cascading effects on network security operations. The vulnerability demonstrates how seemingly minor memory management issues can create significant operational challenges in security tooling, emphasizing the need for robust code review processes and memory safety practices in network security applications.