CVE-2020-25151 in NIO 50
Summary
by MITRE • 11/13/2020
The affected product does not properly validate input, which may allow an attacker to execute a denial-of-service attack on the NIO 50 (all versions).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/07/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2020-25151 represents a critical input validation flaw within the NIO 50 product line that exposes systems to targeted denial-of-service attacks. This weakness stems from insufficient sanitization and validation of user-supplied data inputs, creating a pathway for malicious actors to disrupt normal system operations. The vulnerability affects all versions of the NIO 50 device, indicating a fundamental design flaw that has persisted across the product lifecycle. The lack of proper input validation mechanisms allows attackers to craft specially malformed inputs that can trigger unexpected behavior in the system's processing routines, ultimately leading to service interruption.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through the manipulation of input parameters that the system accepts without adequate verification. When the NIO 50 processes these malformed inputs, the device's internal state becomes corrupted or the processing threads become unresponsive, resulting in complete service disruption. This type of vulnerability aligns with CWE-20, which categorizes improper input validation as a fundamental weakness in software security. The flaw essentially creates a condition where the system cannot distinguish between legitimate and malicious data, allowing the attacker to leverage the device's normal processing functions against itself.
From an operational perspective, the impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service interruption to potentially compromise the availability of critical network infrastructure. The NIO 50 devices are typically deployed in environments where continuous operation is essential, making denial-of-service attacks particularly damaging. Attackers can exploit this weakness to cause extended downtime, affecting network connectivity and potentially disrupting business operations. The vulnerability's persistence across all versions suggests that organizations may have been unknowingly exposed to this risk for an extended period, creating a window of opportunity for exploitation that could have gone undetected.
The attack surface for this vulnerability encompasses any interaction point where user input is accepted by the NIO 50 system, including network protocols, management interfaces, and configuration parameters. According to ATT&CK framework, this weakness maps to techniques involving service disruption and resource exhaustion, where the attacker leverages the device's processing capabilities against itself. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including network segmentation, input filtering at system boundaries, and monitoring for anomalous input patterns. Additionally, regular firmware updates and security patches should be deployed to address the root cause of the validation flaw. The vulnerability underscores the importance of implementing robust input validation mechanisms and adhering to security best practices in network device development, as highlighted by industry standards such as NIST SP 800-160 and ISO 27001 requirements for secure system design.