CVE-2018-6589 in Spectrum
Summary
by MITRE
CA Spectrum 10.1 prior to 10.01.02.PTF_10.1.239 and 10.2.x prior to 10.2.3 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/01/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-6589 affects CA Spectrum versions 10.1 prior to 10.01.02.PTF_10.1.239 and 10.2.x prior to 10.2.3, representing a critical denial of service weakness that can be exploited remotely by attackers without authentication. This vulnerability resides within the core network monitoring and management platform that organizations rely upon for infrastructure visibility and performance monitoring. The unspecified vectors suggest that the flaw may manifest through multiple attack pathways within the software's processing logic or resource management mechanisms, making it particularly concerning for security teams who must account for various potential exploitation methods.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and resource handling within the CA Spectrum application, which creates opportunities for attackers to craft malicious payloads that trigger unexpected behavior in the system's processing routines. When exploited, these conditions can cause the application to crash, become unresponsive, or consume excessive system resources leading to complete service disruption. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-400 weakness category related to excessive resource consumption and may also map to CWE-122 for buffer overflows or improper input handling, depending on the specific exploitation vector. Given that CA Spectrum operates as a centralized monitoring solution, this vulnerability represents a significant risk to enterprise infrastructure stability and operational continuity.
From an operational impact perspective, organizations utilizing affected CA Spectrum versions face substantial risk of service interruptions that can cascade across their entire monitoring infrastructure. The remote exploitation capability means that attackers can target these systems from outside the network perimeter, potentially affecting critical infrastructure monitoring capabilities that organizations depend upon for incident response and system health assessment. This vulnerability directly impacts the availability aspect of the CIA triad and can result in extended downtime for network monitoring services, potentially masking other security incidents or performance issues that would normally be detected through the monitoring platform. The attack surface is particularly broad given that CA Spectrum is deployed across enterprise networks for comprehensive infrastructure management and monitoring.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2018-6589 should prioritize immediate deployment of the vendor-provided patches and updates for both affected version lines, specifically versions 10.01.02.PTF_10.1.239 for 10.1 and 10.2.3 for 10.2.x releases. Network segmentation and access controls should be implemented to limit exposure of the affected systems to untrusted networks, while monitoring should be enhanced to detect potential exploitation attempts through unusual resource consumption patterns or service disruptions. Organizations should also consider implementing redundant monitoring solutions or backup systems to maintain visibility during patching operations or in case of successful exploitation. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under the T1499 technique for Network Denial of Service, and organizations should update their threat models to account for potential exploitation of this weakness in their security monitoring and incident response procedures.