CVE-2017-12093 in MicroLogix 1400
Summary
by MITRE
An exploitable insufficient resource pool vulnerability exists in the session communication functionality of Allen Bradley Micrologix 1400 Series B Firmware 21.2 and before. A specially crafted stream of packets can cause a flood of the session resource pool resulting in legitimate connections to the PLC being disconnected. An attacker can send unauthenticated packets to trigger this vulnerability.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/27/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-12093 represents a critical insufficient resource pool weakness within the Allen Bradley Micrologix 1400 Series B Firmware version 21.2 and earlier. This flaw resides in the session communication functionality of industrial control systems, specifically targeting programmable logic controllers that are widely deployed in manufacturing and industrial automation environments. The vulnerability stems from inadequate resource management within the session handling mechanism, creating a condition where the system's session resource pool can be systematically exhausted through malicious packet streams.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the exploitation of the session communication protocol's resource allocation logic. When a specially crafted stream of packets is transmitted to the affected PLC, the system's session resource pool becomes flooded with invalid or excessive session requests. This resource exhaustion occurs because the firmware fails to properly validate or limit the rate at which new session connections can be established. The flaw allows an attacker to consume available session resources without proper authentication, effectively creating a denial of service condition that disrupts legitimate industrial communication processes.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to industrial control systems as it can lead to unauthorized disruption of critical manufacturing processes. The ability to send unauthenticated packets means that attackers can exploit this weakness from external network positions without requiring legitimate credentials or access privileges. When legitimate connections are disconnected due to resource pool exhaustion, production systems may experience unexpected downtime, quality control issues, or safety hazards depending on the industrial environment. The impact extends beyond simple service disruption to potentially compromise operational technology infrastructure that controls physical processes.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-400, which addresses improper resource management in software systems, specifically targeting the exhaustion of system resources through inadequate resource handling mechanisms. From an attack framework perspective, this weakness maps to the attack technique of resource exhaustion within the MITRE ATT&CK framework for industrial control systems, where adversaries seek to disrupt operations by consuming system resources. Organizations utilizing Allen Bradley Micrologix 1400 Series PLCs should implement immediate firmware updates to address this vulnerability, establish network segmentation to limit access to these devices, and deploy monitoring solutions to detect anomalous packet patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. Additionally, implementing proper access controls and authentication mechanisms can help reduce the attack surface for this particular vulnerability.