CVE-2021-2416 in Communications Session Border Controller
Summary
by MITRE • 10/20/2021
Vulnerability in the Oracle Communications Session Border Controller product of Oracle Communications (component: Routing). Supported versions that are affected are 8.4 and 9.0. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows high privileged attacker with network access via HTTP to compromise Oracle Communications Session Border Controller. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized ability to cause a hang or frequently repeatable crash (complete DOS) of Oracle Communications Session Border Controller. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 4.9 (Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/24/2021
The Oracle Communications Session Border Controller represents a critical component in enterprise telecommunications infrastructure, serving as a gateway for managing voice and video communications across network boundaries. This vulnerability resides within the routing component of the system, specifically affecting versions 8.4 and 9.0 of the software. The flaw manifests as a weakness in the application's handling of HTTP requests, creating a pathway for exploitation that could severely impact service availability. The vulnerability's classification as easily exploitable indicates that sophisticated attack techniques are not required, making it particularly dangerous in production environments where such systems operate with high availability requirements.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and improper error handling within the HTTP processing pipeline of the Session Border Controller. When processing maliciously crafted HTTP requests, the system fails to properly sanitize or validate incoming data, leading to potential memory corruption or resource exhaustion conditions. This weakness allows a high privileged attacker who can establish network connectivity to the affected system to manipulate the application's behavior. The vulnerability specifically targets the routing functionality, which suggests that the flaw may be triggered during session establishment or media path configuration processes, potentially affecting the core communication capabilities of the system.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption, as it provides an attacker with the capability to induce complete denial of service conditions. Successful exploitation can result in system hangs or repeated crashes that effectively render the Session Border Controller non-operational, thereby disrupting all voice and video communication services that depend on this infrastructure. The CVSS score of 4.9 reflects the availability impact severity, indicating that while the attack requires elevated privileges, the consequences are severe enough to warrant immediate attention. The availability impact is particularly concerning given that Session Border Controllers typically operate in mission-critical environments where communication continuity is essential for business operations.
Security professionals should consider this vulnerability in relation to the CWE-20 category, which encompasses "Improper Input Validation," as the flaw likely stems from inadequate sanitization of HTTP request parameters. Additionally, the attack pattern aligns with techniques described in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the "Resource Exhaustion" and "Service Execution" domains, where adversaries seek to compromise system availability through manipulation of service processes. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including network segmentation to limit access to the affected system, deployment of web application firewalls to filter malicious HTTP traffic, and application-level restrictions to limit HTTP request processing capabilities. Regular monitoring and vulnerability assessments should be conducted to identify potential exploitation attempts and ensure the continued security posture of the telecommunications infrastructure.