CVE-2022-24035 in ONOS
Summary
by MITRE • 04/20/2023
An issue was discovered in ONOS 2.5.1. The purge-requested intent remains on the list, but it does not respond to changes in topology (e.g., link failure). In combination with other applications, it could lead to a failure of network management.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/30/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-24035 affects ONOS version 2.5.1, a software-defined networking controller platform that manages network topology and intent-based policies. This flaw represents a critical issue in the intent management system where purged intents continue to persist in the active list despite being marked for removal, creating a persistent state inconsistency that undermines the controller's ability to maintain accurate network management. The vulnerability specifically impacts the intent subsystem's purging mechanism, which is designed to remove obsolete or completed intents from the system's active processing queue. When an intent is requested for purging, the system fails to properly remove it from the operational state, causing it to remain in memory and continue participating in network management decisions even though it should be inactive. This behavior creates a condition where the controller maintains references to outdated intents while simultaneously failing to respond appropriately to dynamic network changes such as link failures, path disruptions, or topology modifications. The persistence of these stale intents can lead to cascading failures in network management operations, as the system continues to reference and attempt to enforce policies that no longer correspond to the actual network state.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in the intent management and state synchronization mechanisms within the ONOS platform's control plane. When an intent purge request is issued, the system should properly invalidate the intent from both the active processing queue and the topology-aware state management components. However, the flaw demonstrates a failure in the state synchronization process where the intent removal operation does not fully propagate through all system components. This creates a scenario where the intent exists in a limbo state, appearing in the active list but not being properly managed by the topology change detection subsystem. The vulnerability manifests when the controller encounters network topology events such as link failures or path changes, and the stale intent fails to respond to these changes, leading to inconsistent network behavior. The issue is particularly concerning because ONOS is designed to provide resilient and adaptive network management, and this flaw directly undermines that capability by creating persistent stale state that interferes with proper network operation.
The operational impact of CVE-2022-24035 extends beyond simple state inconsistency to potentially cause significant network management failures that can affect service availability and network reliability. When stale intents persist in the system, they can interfere with legitimate network management operations by continuing to influence path selection, flow programming, and resource allocation decisions. This can result in network paths that are no longer valid being considered for traffic forwarding, leading to packet loss, increased latency, or complete service disruption. The vulnerability becomes particularly dangerous when combined with other applications running on the ONOS platform, as the interaction between multiple components can amplify the impact of the stale intent state. Network administrators may observe inconsistent behavior where network policies appear to be enforced correctly in some areas while failing in others, making troubleshooting extremely difficult. The vulnerability also impacts the controller's ability to maintain an accurate view of the network state, which is fundamental to effective SDN management. This can result in delayed or failed responses to network failures, as the system continues to reference outdated intent information when attempting to compute new network paths or reconfigure network elements following topology changes.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2022-24035 should focus on both immediate operational responses and long-term architectural improvements to prevent similar state management issues. Organizations should implement immediate monitoring of intent lists and purge operations to detect when stale intents persist beyond their expected lifecycle. The recommended approach includes implementing automated checks that verify the proper removal of intents from the active state and cross-reference this with topology change events to ensure no stale references remain. Network administrators should also consider implementing manual cleanup procedures for identified stale intents, particularly in environments where the vulnerability has been confirmed to exist. The fix should involve enhancing the intent purging mechanism to ensure complete state synchronization across all subsystems, including the topology management, flow programming, and intent state tracking components. This aligns with common security practices for preventing state-related vulnerabilities and corresponds to CWE-254, which addresses security weaknesses related to improper handling of system state. Organizations should also consider implementing the ATT&CK technique T1566.002, which involves maintaining and adapting network infrastructure configurations to prevent persistence of stale or invalid state information. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper state lifecycle management in distributed systems and highlights the need for comprehensive testing of state transition mechanisms, particularly in critical infrastructure management platforms like ONOS that are essential for modern network operations and service delivery.