CVE-2017-9358 in Asterisk
Summary
by MITRE
A memory exhaustion vulnerability exists in Asterisk Open Source 13.x before 13.15.1 and 14.x before 14.4.1 and Certified Asterisk 13.13 before 13.13-cert4, which can be triggered by sending specially crafted SCCP packets causing an infinite loop and leading to memory exhaustion (by message logging in that loop).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/15/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-9358 represents a critical memory exhaustion flaw affecting Asterisk Open Source and Certified Asterisk installations across multiple version ranges. This vulnerability specifically targets the SCCP (Skinny Client Control Protocol) implementation within the Asterisk telephony platform, creating a dangerous condition that can lead to system compromise through resource exhaustion. The flaw manifests when the system processes specially crafted SCCP packets that trigger an infinite loop within the message logging mechanism, causing continuous memory allocation without proper termination conditions.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and error handling within the SCCP packet processing module. When legitimate SCCP packets are malformed or constructed with specific parameters, they can cause the Asterisk application to enter a continuous loop where each iteration generates additional log messages, resulting in exponential memory consumption. This behavior directly aligns with CWE-400, which categorizes unchecked resource consumption as a fundamental weakness in software design. The infinite loop occurs because the system fails to properly validate packet structures before processing them through the logging subsystem, creating a condition where malformed packets continuously trigger logging operations without proper bounds checking.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service scenarios, as it can be exploited by remote attackers to cause complete system instability and potential service disruption. When the memory exhaustion occurs, legitimate system operations become impossible as available memory is consumed, leading to application crashes or system hangs that can affect voice communication services critical to business operations. This vulnerability particularly affects telephony environments where Asterisk serves as a central communication hub, making it attractive to attackers seeking to disrupt business continuity. The attack vector requires only the ability to send packets to the targeted Asterisk system, making it easily exploitable from external networks without requiring authentication or privileged access.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2017-9358 focus primarily on applying the vendor-provided patches and updates that address the specific memory handling issues within the SCCP implementation. Organizations should immediately upgrade to Asterisk versions 13.15.1 or 14.4.1, or Certified Asterisk 13.13-cert4, which contain the necessary fixes for the infinite loop condition. Network-level protections such as firewall rules that restrict SCCP packet transmission or implementing rate limiting on incoming packets can provide temporary defensive measures while updates are deployed. Additionally, monitoring systems should be configured to detect unusual memory consumption patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving resource exhaustion and denial of service, specifically targeting the system resources that maintain service availability and communication integrity. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper input validation and error handling in network services, as highlighted by ATT&CK technique T1499 for resource exhaustion attacks.