CVE-2022-3409 in bmcweb
Summary
by MITRE • 10/27/2022
A vulnerability in bmcweb of OpenBMC Project allows user to cause denial of service.
This vulnerability was identified during mitigation for CVE-2022-2809. When fuzzing the multipart_parser code using AFL++ with address sanitizer enabled to find smallest memory corruptions possible. It detected problem in how multipart_parser handles unclosed http headers. If long enough http header is passed in the multipart form without colon there is one byte overwrite on heap. It can be conducted multiple times in a loop to cause DoS.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/25/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-3409 resides within the bmcweb component of the OpenBMC Project, representing a critical security flaw that enables authenticated users to induce denial of service conditions. This weakness was discovered during the remediation efforts for a related vulnerability CVE-2022-2809, demonstrating the interconnected nature of security issues within complex embedded systems. The OpenBMC Project serves as an open-source foundation for managing and monitoring enterprise hardware, making vulnerabilities in its components particularly concerning for data center and infrastructure security. The bmcweb module specifically handles web-based management interfaces for BMC (Baseboard Management Controller) systems, which are essential for remote hardware monitoring and control in server environments.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability manifests in the multipart_parser implementation within the bmcweb codebase, where improper handling of HTTP headers leads to memory corruption. During systematic fuzzing operations using AFL++ with address sanitizer enabled, security researchers identified that when malformed multipart form data containing excessively long HTTP headers without proper colon separators is processed, the parser executes a one-byte heap overflow. This occurs because the parser fails to properly validate header boundaries and does not implement adequate bounds checking for header length validation. The vulnerability is particularly insidious as it can be repeatedly exploited through iterative processing loops, where multiple malformed headers can be submitted in sequence to accumulate the heap corruption effects.
The operational impact of CVE-2022-3409 extends beyond simple service disruption, creating potential for cascading failures within BMC management interfaces. The heap overflow condition can lead to memory corruption that may result in application crashes, process termination, or system instability, effectively rendering the BMC management interface unavailable to legitimate administrators. This denial of service scenario is particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where BMC systems are critical for remote server management, hardware monitoring, and system recovery operations. The vulnerability's exploitability is enhanced by the fact that it requires minimal privileges, as it can be triggered through normal web interface interactions, making it accessible to both internal and external threat actors who might gain access to BMC management endpoints. According to CWE classification, this vulnerability maps to CWE-121, heap-based buffer overflow, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.004 for network denial of service, while also demonstrating characteristics of credential compromise through system manipulation.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2022-3409 should prioritize immediate code patches that implement proper header validation and bounds checking within the multipart_parser module. Security teams must ensure that all HTTP header processing routines include comprehensive input validation, length limits, and proper memory boundary checks to prevent heap corruption. The fix should incorporate defensive programming practices such as input sanitization, proper buffer allocation, and robust error handling for malformed headers. Organizations should also implement network segmentation controls to limit access to BMC management interfaces, deploy intrusion detection systems to monitor for exploitation attempts, and establish regular security auditing of embedded management components. Additionally, the vulnerability highlights the importance of comprehensive fuzzing programs that include address sanitization and memory corruption detection tools as part of the security testing lifecycle. The remediation process should include thorough regression testing to ensure that the patch does not introduce new functionality issues while maintaining the core multipart form processing capabilities essential for BMC management operations.