CVE-2017-15314 in DP300
Summary
by MITRE
Huawei DP300 V500R002C00, RP200 V500R002C00SPC200, V600R006C00, TE30 V100R001C10SPC300, V100R001C10SPC500, V100R001C10SPC600, V100R001C10SPC700, V500R002C00SPC200, V500R002C00SPC500, V500R002C00SPC600, V500R002C00SPC700, V500R002C00SPC900, V500R002C00SPCb00, V600R006C00, TE40 V500R002C00SPC600, V500R002C00SPC700, V500R002C00SPC900, V500R002C00SPCb00, V600R006C00, TE50 V500R002C00SPC600, V500R002C00SPC700, V500R002C00SPCb00, V600R006C00, TE60 V100R001C10, V500R002C00, V600R006C00 have a memory leak vulnerability due to memory don't be released when the XML parser process some node fail. An attacker could exploit it to cause memory leak, which may further lead to system exceptions.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/17/2023
This vulnerability affects multiple Huawei communication devices including DP300, RP200, TE30, TE40, TE50, and TE60 series products running specific firmware versions. The memory leak occurs within the XML parser functionality when processing certain XML nodes fails during parsing operations. This represents a classic memory management flaw where allocated memory resources are not properly deallocated when error conditions are encountered during XML processing. The vulnerability stems from inadequate error handling mechanisms that fail to release previously allocated memory blocks when parsing operations terminate prematurely due to malformed or unexpected XML content.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability demonstrates a failure in resource management protocols where the XML parser component does not execute proper cleanup routines upon encountering parsing failures. When an XML node processing operation fails, the system should release all associated memory allocations, but instead maintains references to these memory blocks, causing progressive memory consumption over time. This type of vulnerability aligns with CWE-401, which specifically addresses memory leaks in software applications. The failure occurs at the application layer where XML parsing libraries do not implement proper exception handling to ensure memory deallocation even when parsing encounters errors.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents a significant risk to system stability and availability. The progressive memory consumption can lead to system performance degradation, application crashes, and ultimately complete system failures. Attackers can exploit this vulnerability by crafting malicious XML payloads that trigger parsing failures, thereby consuming system memory resources over time. This creates a potential denial of service condition where legitimate users experience service disruption as system resources become exhausted. The vulnerability can be particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where these devices serve critical communication functions, as the memory leak may go unnoticed until system performance severely degrades.
The impact extends beyond simple resource exhaustion to include potential system instability and service disruption. In networked environments, this vulnerability could enable attackers to perform sustained denial of service attacks by repeatedly sending malformed XML data to trigger memory consumption. The vulnerability affects multiple device models across different firmware versions, indicating a systemic issue within the XML parsing implementation across Huawei's product line. Organizations should consider implementing network segmentation and monitoring to detect unusual memory consumption patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability also aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499, which covers resource exhaustion attacks that consume system resources to prevent normal operations.
Mitigation strategies should include immediate firmware updates from Huawei to address the memory leak issue, proper input validation and sanitization of XML data before processing, and implementation of memory monitoring systems to detect abnormal consumption patterns. Network administrators should also consider implementing rate limiting and access controls on XML processing endpoints to reduce the impact of potential exploitation attempts. Regular system monitoring for memory usage trends can help identify when the vulnerability is being exploited, while network intrusion detection systems can be configured to alert on suspicious XML parsing activities. The vulnerability highlights the importance of proper memory management practices and robust error handling in embedded systems, particularly in telecommunications equipment where reliability is critical for maintaining business continuity and network availability.