CVE-2017-2922 in Mongoose
Summary
by MITRE
An exploitable memory corruption vulnerability exists in the Websocket protocol implementation of Cesanta Mongoose 6.8. A specially crafted websocket packet can cause a buffer to be allocated while leaving stale pointers which leads to a use-after-free vulnerability which can be exploited to achieve remote code execution. An attacker needs to send a specially crafted websocket packet over the network to trigger this vulnerability.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/06/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-2922 represents a critical memory corruption flaw within the Cesanta Mongoose 6.8 web server implementation, specifically affecting its websocket protocol handling capabilities. This issue manifests as a use-after-free condition that arises from improper memory management during websocket packet processing, creating a significant attack surface for remote code execution. The vulnerability stems from the websocket protocol implementation's failure to properly manage memory allocation and deallocation sequences, particularly when handling malformed or specially crafted websocket packets that exploit the underlying memory management routines.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through a carefully constructed websocket packet that triggers a specific sequence of memory operations resulting in a buffer allocation followed by the retention of stale pointers. This memory management flaw creates a scenario where freed memory regions are accessed after their intended reuse, enabling attackers to manipulate program execution flow through controlled memory corruption. The use-after-free condition allows for arbitrary code execution because the stale pointers reference memory locations that can be manipulated by an attacker to redirect program execution to malicious payloads. This vulnerability operates at the intersection of memory safety issues and network protocol handling, making it particularly dangerous as it requires only network-level access to exploit.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability presents a severe risk to systems running Cesanta Mongoose 6.8 web servers that utilize websocket functionality, as it enables remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected systems without requiring authentication or local access. The attack vector is network-based, meaning that an attacker can exploit this vulnerability from anywhere on the network, making it particularly concerning for publicly accessible web applications. The use-after-free condition can potentially be leveraged to escalate privileges, bypass security controls, or establish persistent access to compromised systems, aligning with attack patterns documented in the attack mitigation framework. This vulnerability directly corresponds to CWE-416, which describes the use of freed memory condition, and demonstrates how improper memory management in network protocol implementations can create persistent security risks.
The mitigation strategy for CVE-2017-2922 requires immediate deployment of the official patch released by Cesanta for Mongoose 6.8, which addresses the memory management issues within the websocket protocol implementation. Organizations should also implement network-level controls such as firewall rules that restrict websocket traffic to trusted sources, and deploy intrusion detection systems that can identify and block malicious websocket packets. Additionally, network segmentation and monitoring should be enhanced to detect anomalous websocket traffic patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability's classification as a remote code execution flaw necessitates comprehensive security assessments of all systems running affected software versions, along with regular vulnerability scanning to identify potential exploitation attempts. Security teams should also consider implementing application-level firewalls and web application firewalls that can filter websocket traffic based on protocol compliance and detect malformed packets that could trigger this memory corruption condition.