CVE-2017-8199 in Max Presence
Summary
by MITRE
MAX PRESENCE V100R001C00, TP3106 V100R002C00, TP3206 V100R002C00 have an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in H323 protocol. An attacker logs in to the system as a user and send crafted packets to the affected products. Due to insufficient verification of the packets, successful exploit will cause process reboot.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/16/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-8199 affects multiple Huawei communication devices including MAX PRESENCE V100R001C00 and TP3106 V100R002C00 and TP3206 V100R002C00 products. This represents a critical out-of-bounds read flaw within the H323 protocol implementation that exists at the network communication layer of these video conferencing and collaboration systems. The vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation mechanisms that fail to properly verify the structure and content of incoming H323 protocol packets. When legitimate users authenticate to the system and subsequently send malformed or crafted packets, the vulnerable software fails to perform proper bounds checking on packet data structures, leading to memory access violations.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-125, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions where programs access memory locations beyond the intended buffer boundaries. The H323 protocol is a standardized communication protocol used for audiovisual communication in IP networks, commonly employed in video conferencing systems. In this case, the implementation fails to validate packet length fields, sequence numbers, or other critical header information that would normally prevent malformed data from causing memory corruption. The exploitation occurs during normal operational procedures when authenticated users send specifically crafted packets that trigger the memory access violation, which manifests as an immediate system reboot.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents a significant risk to enterprise communication infrastructure as it requires only authenticated access to exploit, making it particularly dangerous in environments where internal network access is not strictly controlled. The impact extends beyond simple service disruption since the process reboot can result in loss of ongoing video conferences, communication delays, and potential data loss during the recovery process. The vulnerability also creates opportunities for denial of service attacks that could be leveraged by malicious insiders or attackers who have gained network credentials. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to T1499.004 which covers network denial of service attacks, and T1078 which covers valid accounts as a means of gaining access to systems.
The exploitation of this vulnerability demonstrates a clear path from initial access to system compromise through the use of legitimate network protocols. Organizations should implement network segmentation to limit access to these devices and enforce strict access controls, as the vulnerability requires authenticated access to execute successfully. Mitigation strategies should include applying the vendor-provided security patches immediately, implementing network monitoring to detect anomalous H323 traffic patterns, and establishing robust network access controls to prevent unauthorized users from accessing these systems. Additionally, regular security assessments of communication protocols and network infrastructure should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other networked devices and systems that may be susceptible to similar out-of-bounds read conditions.