CVE-2017-7456 in MXView
Summary
by MITRE
Moxa MXView 2.8 allows remote attackers to cause a Denial of Service by sending overly long junk payload for the MXView client login credentials.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/31/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-7456 affects Moxa MXView version 2.8, a network management and monitoring solution designed for industrial environments. This issue represents a classic buffer overflow condition that can be exploited remotely to disrupt service availability. The flaw specifically manifests during the client login authentication process where the system fails to properly validate the length of incoming payload data, creating an opportunity for malicious actors to craft specially crafted packets that exceed expected parameter limits.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation mechanisms within the MXView authentication subsystem. When a remote attacker sends a login request containing an excessively long payload, the system's credential handling routines do not enforce proper bounds checking on the received data. This absence of proper boundary validation allows the oversized data to overwrite adjacent memory locations, ultimately causing the application to crash or become unresponsive. The vulnerability operates at the application layer and requires no authentication to exploit, making it particularly dangerous as it can be triggered by any remote entity with network access to the affected system.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability creates significant risk for industrial control systems and network monitoring environments where Moxa MXView is deployed. The denial of service condition effectively renders the management interface inaccessible, preventing legitimate administrators from monitoring and controlling their network infrastructure. In industrial settings, this can lead to complete loss of visibility into critical network operations, potentially resulting in extended downtime and operational disruption. The vulnerability's remote exploitability means that attackers can initiate the attack from any location without requiring physical access to the system, making it an attractive target for malicious actors seeking to disrupt industrial operations.
Security professionals should recognize this vulnerability as a variant of CWE-121, which encompasses buffer overflow conditions in stack-based buffers, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.1 for network denial of service attacks. The attack surface extends beyond simple service disruption as it can be leveraged as part of broader attack campaigns targeting industrial control systems. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including network segmentation to limit access to the MXView service, deploying intrusion detection systems to monitor for suspicious login patterns, and applying vendor-provided patches as soon as they become available. Additionally, network administrators should consider implementing rate limiting on authentication attempts and monitoring for unusually large payload sizes in network traffic to detect potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability highlights the critical importance of input validation and proper memory management in industrial network management systems where availability is paramount for operational continuity.