CVE-2017-12077 in Router Manager
Summary
by MITRE
Uncontrolled Resource Consumption vulnerability in SYNO.Core.PortForwarding.Rules in Synology Router Manager (SRM) before 1.1.4-6509 allows remote authenticated attacker to exhaust the memory resources of the machine, causing a denial of service attack.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/16/2022
The CVE-2017-12077 vulnerability represents a critical uncontrolled resource consumption flaw within Synology Router Manager's core port forwarding functionality. This issue affects the SYNO.Core.PortForwarding.Rules component and specifically targets versions prior to 1.1.4-6509, making it a significant concern for organizations relying on Synology networking equipment. The vulnerability manifests as a denial of service condition that can be exploited by remote authenticated attackers who possess valid credentials to the router management interface.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through malformed or specially crafted port forwarding rules that trigger memory exhaustion within the router's operating system. When an authenticated attacker submits malicious input through the port forwarding configuration interface, the system fails to properly validate or limit resource allocation during rule processing. This lack of input sanitization creates a condition where memory consumption grows uncontrollably until the system reaches its resource limits, ultimately resulting in service disruption. The vulnerability falls under the CWE-400 category of Uncontrolled Resource Consumption, specifically classified as a memory exhaustion attack vector that can be amplified through crafted inputs.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses a substantial risk to network availability and business continuity. Organizations utilizing Synology routers as critical network infrastructure components face potential downtime when this vulnerability is exploited, particularly in environments where router management access is accessible to multiple users or where credentials might be compromised through social engineering or other attack vectors. The remote nature of the attack means that adversaries do not require physical access to the device, making the exploitation more feasible and the impact more severe. Network administrators may experience complete loss of router management capabilities, forcing manual intervention and potentially requiring device reboot to restore normal operations.
The attack surface for this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service as it can be leveraged as part of broader attack campaigns targeting network infrastructure. Attackers can combine this vulnerability with other exploitation techniques to create more sophisticated attack chains, potentially leading to complete network compromise. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of proper input validation and resource management in embedded systems and network appliances, as these devices often operate with limited resources and are critical to network operations. Organizations should implement network segmentation and access controls to limit the potential impact of such vulnerabilities, while also ensuring that all network devices receive timely security updates.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2017-12077 should focus on immediate patch deployment to update Synology Router Manager to version 1.1.4-6509 or later, which contains the necessary fixes for the memory consumption issue. Network administrators should also implement monitoring solutions to detect unusual memory usage patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. Access controls should be strengthened through multi-factor authentication and least privilege principles to limit the number of users with administrative access to router management interfaces. Additionally, organizations should conduct regular vulnerability assessments of their network infrastructure to identify similar issues in other embedded systems and appliances that may present similar resource exhaustion attack vectors. The vulnerability underscores the need for comprehensive security testing of network infrastructure components and adherence to secure coding practices that prevent resource exhaustion attacks through proper input validation and resource allocation controls.