CVE-2019-12258 in VxWorks
Summary
by MITRE
Wind River VxWorks 6.5 through 6.9 and vx7 has Session Fixation in the TCP component. This is a IPNET security vulnerability: DoS of TCP connection via malformed TCP options.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/24/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-12258 affects Wind River VxWorks versions 6.5 through 6.9 and vx7, specifically within the TCP component of the IPNET security framework. This issue represents a session fixation vulnerability that manifests through malformed TCP options, creating a significant threat to network connectivity and system availability. The vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of TCP option fields during connection establishment and maintenance phases, allowing malicious actors to manipulate session identifiers and potentially disrupt legitimate network communications.
The technical flaw resides in the TCP stack implementation where the system fails to properly validate and sanitize TCP options received during connection negotiation. When malformed TCP options are transmitted to the affected VxWorks systems, the TCP component processes these invalid options without adequate safeguards, leading to unpredictable behavior in connection handling. This weakness enables attackers to craft specific TCP packets containing malicious options that can cause the TCP connection state machine to enter an inconsistent state, ultimately resulting in denial of service conditions. The vulnerability specifically impacts the session management aspect of TCP connections, where the system's inability to properly handle malformed options leads to connection termination or indefinite hanging states.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption, as it can be leveraged to create sustained denial of service conditions that affect critical network infrastructure. Systems running affected VxWorks versions become vulnerable to attacks that can cause TCP connections to fail, leading to complete loss of network connectivity for applications relying on these embedded systems. The vulnerability affects both IPv4 and IPv6 implementations within the affected versions, making it particularly dangerous for industrial control systems, network appliances, and embedded devices that utilize Wind River VxWorks. Network administrators may observe intermittent connection failures, increased latency, or complete network outages when this vulnerability is exploited, particularly in environments where TCP reliability is paramount for system operation.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2019-12258 should focus on both immediate defensive measures and long-term system hardening. Organizations should prioritize applying official patches released by Wind River to address the TCP option validation issues within the IPNET framework. Network segmentation and intrusion detection systems should be deployed to monitor for suspicious TCP option patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. Implementing TCP option filtering rules at network boundaries can provide additional protection by dropping packets containing malformed TCP options before they reach vulnerable systems. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-200, which addresses improper error handling in network protocols, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1499.004 for network disruption attacks. Regular network monitoring and security auditing of embedded systems should be implemented to detect potential exploitation attempts, while system administrators should maintain updated threat intelligence feeds to identify emerging attack patterns targeting embedded network stacks.