CVE-2019-1010142 in scapy
Summary
by MITRE
scapy 2.4.0 is affected by: Denial of Service. The impact is: infinite loop, resource consumption and program unresponsive. The component is: _RADIUSAttrPacketListField.getfield(self..). The attack vector is: over the network or in a pcap. both work.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/05/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-1010142 affects the scapy network packet manipulation library version 2.4.0, presenting a critical denial of service condition that can be exploited through network traffic or pcap file analysis. This flaw manifests specifically within the _RADIUSAttrPacketListField.getfield method, which serves as a crucial component in processing RADIUS protocol attributes. The vulnerability represents a classic infinite loop scenario where maliciously crafted RADIUS packets can cause the application to enter an indefinite processing cycle, consuming excessive system resources and rendering the program unresponsive to legitimate requests.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation within the packet parsing logic of scapy's RADIUS attribute handling mechanism. When the _RADIUSAttrPacketListField.getfield method processes malformed or specially crafted RADIUS packets, it fails to properly validate the structure of attribute data, leading to recursive or iterative processing that never terminates. This behavior creates a resource exhaustion condition where CPU cycles are consumed indefinitely while memory allocation continues without proper bounds checking. The attack can be executed through multiple vectors including direct network transmission of malicious packets or by processing previously captured pcap files containing the vulnerable payload, making it particularly dangerous as it can affect both live network analysis and offline packet inspection scenarios.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption to potentially compromise entire network monitoring and security infrastructure. Network administrators who rely on scapy for packet analysis, intrusion detection, or security testing may find their systems become unresponsive when processing legitimate traffic containing the malformed RADIUS attributes. This vulnerability directly impacts the availability of network security tools and can be exploited by attackers to perform resource exhaustion attacks against systems using scapy for network analysis. The issue affects any application or tool that depends on scapy's RADIUS packet handling capabilities, including network monitoring systems, packet capture utilities, and security analysis frameworks. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-835, which specifically addresses infinite loops and iterative processing that never terminate, and can be categorized under ATT&CK technique T1499.004 for resource exhaustion attacks.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate patching of scapy to version 2.4.1 or later, which includes proper bounds checking and input validation within the _RADIUSAttrPacketListField.getfield method. Organizations should implement network segmentation and monitoring to detect unusual processing patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. Additionally, security teams should validate all packet capture files before processing them through scapy-based tools, and consider implementing rate limiting or resource allocation controls to prevent complete system exhaustion. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper input validation in network protocol parsers and highlights the need for thorough testing of packet processing components against malformed data to prevent similar resource exhaustion conditions in other network security tools.