CVE-2018-7361 in ZXHN F670
Summary
by MITRE
All versions up to V1.1.10P3T18 of ZTE ZXHN F670 product are impacted by null pointer dereference vulnerability, which may allows an attacker to cause a denial of service.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/06/2023
The CVE-2018-7361 vulnerability affects ZTE ZXHN F670 devices running firmware versions up to V1.1.10P3T18, representing a critical null pointer dereference flaw that can be exploited to trigger denial of service conditions. This vulnerability resides within the device's firmware implementation and demonstrates a fundamental programming error where the system fails to properly validate pointer references before attempting to access memory locations. The affected device operates as a residential gateway or router, serving as a primary network access point for home and small office users, making it a potentially attractive target for malicious actors seeking to disrupt network connectivity.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-476, which specifically addresses null pointer dereference conditions in software implementations. When an attacker crafts malicious input or exploits existing communication protocols within the device's interface, the system attempts to dereference a null pointer, leading to unexpected program termination and system instability. This flaw typically manifests through improper input validation mechanisms within the device's web administration interface or network protocol handlers, where unvalidated user-supplied data is processed without proper null checks. The vulnerability represents a classic example of insufficient input validation, where the device fails to properly sanitize or validate incoming requests before processing them, creating an exploitable condition that can be leveraged by remote attackers.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risk to network availability and service continuity for affected users. The denial of service condition can result in complete network disruption for home and small office environments, as the device becomes unresponsive and ceases to function as a network gateway. Attackers can exploit this vulnerability through various means including web interface manipulation, network protocol exploitation, or by sending malformed packets to the device's management interfaces. The impact extends beyond simple service interruption as network connectivity for all connected devices becomes compromised, potentially affecting critical services such as internet access, VoIP communications, and IoT device connectivity. This vulnerability particularly affects environments where the device serves as a primary network access point, making it a high-value target for attackers seeking to disrupt business operations or personal connectivity.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2018-7361 should prioritize immediate firmware updates from ZTE to address the underlying null pointer dereference issue. Organizations and individuals should implement network segmentation to limit exposure and reduce the attack surface, while also establishing monitoring procedures to detect unusual network behavior that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of secure coding practices and proper input validation as outlined in the OWASP Top Ten security risks, particularly addressing the risk of insufficient logging and monitoring that would otherwise allow such vulnerabilities to remain undetected. Network administrators should also consider implementing intrusion detection systems to monitor for exploitation attempts and establish incident response procedures specifically addressing device-level denial of service conditions. Additionally, the vulnerability highlights the necessity for regular security assessments of network infrastructure components and the importance of maintaining up-to-date firmware across all network devices to prevent exploitation of known vulnerabilities.