CVE-2017-17299 in ARXXXX
Summary
by MITRE
Huawei AR120-S V200R006C10, V200R007C00, AR1200 V200R006C10, V200R006C13, V200R007C00, V200R007C02, AR1200-S V200R006C10, V200R007C00, V200R008C20, AR150 V200R006C10, V200R007C00, V200R007C02, AR150-S V200R006C10, V200R007C00, AR160 V200R006C10, V200R006C12, V200R007C00S, V200R007C02, AR200 V200R006C10, V200R007C00, AR200-S V200R006C10, V200R007C00, AR2200 V200R006C10, V200R006C13, V200R006C16, V200R007C00, V200R007C02, AR2200-S V200R006C10, V200R007C00, V200R008C20, AR3200 V200R006C10, V200R006C11, V200R007C00, V200R007C02, AR3600 V200R006C10, V200R007C00, AR510 V200R006C12, V200R006C13, V200R006C15, V200R006C16, V200R006C17, V200R007C00, IPS Module V500R001C30, NIP6300 V500R001C30, NetEngine16EX V200R006C10, V200R007C00 have an insufficient input validation vulnerability. An unauthenticated, remote attacker may send crafted IKE V2 messages to the affected products. Due to the insufficient validation of the messages, successful exploit will cause invalid memory access and result in a denial of service on the affected products.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/08/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-17299 affects Huawei router and networking equipment across multiple product lines including AR120-S, AR1200, AR150, AR160, AR200, AR2200, AR3200, AR3600, AR510, and various module versions. This represents a critical security flaw in the Internet Key Exchange version 2 protocol implementation within these devices, which operates at the network layer to establish secure communication channels. The vulnerability resides in the insufficient validation of incoming IKEv2 messages, specifically targeting the processing of malformed or crafted packets that bypass normal input validation mechanisms. The affected products span multiple firmware versions, indicating this weakness has persisted across several software releases, suggesting a fundamental design flaw rather than a simple coding error that might have been addressed in later patches.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-20, which describes inadequate input validation as a core weakness in software systems. When an attacker sends specially crafted IKEv2 messages to the vulnerable devices, the system fails to properly validate the packet structures, leading to invalid memory access conditions. This type of memory corruption can occur when the device attempts to process malformed data structures without proper bounds checking or validation routines. The attack vector is particularly dangerous because it requires no authentication credentials, making it accessible to remote attackers who can exploit the vulnerability from outside the network perimeter. The impact manifests as a denial of service condition where the affected devices become unresponsive or crash, effectively disrupting network connectivity and potentially creating significant operational downtime for organizations relying on these networking devices.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses substantial risk to enterprise and service provider networks that depend on Huawei networking equipment for core infrastructure functions. The remote exploitation capability means that attackers can potentially target these devices from anywhere on the internet, making it particularly concerning for publicly accessible network equipment. The denial of service impact can result in complete network outages, service disruptions, and significant business continuity issues for organizations that rely on these devices for routing, firewalling, and secure communications. The vulnerability affects multiple product families across different firmware versions, suggesting that organizations may need to assess and patch a broad range of equipment rather than just specific models. This vulnerability also aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.004, which involves network denial of service attacks targeting network infrastructure devices.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigation strategies including network segmentation to limit exposure of vulnerable devices, deploying firewalls or access control lists to block IKEv2 traffic from untrusted sources, and applying official Huawei security patches once available. The vulnerability highlights the importance of robust input validation practices in network protocol implementations and serves as a reminder that security weaknesses in core networking infrastructure can have cascading effects throughout enterprise networks. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify similar weaknesses in other network equipment and ensure comprehensive protection against similar remote exploitation vectors. Organizations should also consider implementing network monitoring solutions that can detect unusual traffic patterns or potential exploitation attempts targeting IKEv2 protocols.