CVE-2023-41779 in ZXCLOUD iRAI
Summary
by MITRE • 01/03/2024
There is an illegal memory access vulnerability of ZTE's ZXCLOUD iRAI product.When the vulnerability is exploited by an attacker with the common user permission, the physical machine will be crashed.
Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/23/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-41779 represents a critical memory access flaw within ZTE's ZXCLOUD iRAI product line, demonstrating a significant security weakness that could lead to system instability and potential denial of service conditions. This vulnerability specifically affects the memory management mechanisms within the iRAI platform, which is designed for data center infrastructure management and server virtualization environments. The flaw manifests as an illegal memory access condition that occurs during normal operational procedures, making it particularly concerning for production environments where system reliability is paramount. The vulnerability's classification aligns with CWE-125, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions that can result in information exposure, system instability, or arbitrary code execution. The ZXCLOUD iRAI product serves as a foundational component for enterprise data center operations, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous as it could disrupt critical business processes and infrastructure management functions.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate bounds checking within the memory allocation and access routines of the iRAI platform's software stack. When legitimate user operations trigger specific memory access patterns, the system fails to properly validate memory boundaries, leading to unauthorized memory access attempts that ultimately cause system crashes. This type of vulnerability typically arises from insufficient input validation and memory management controls that should be implemented at multiple layers of the software architecture. The fact that an attacker with common user permissions can exploit this weakness indicates a fundamental flaw in the privilege separation mechanisms and access control implementations within the system. Such vulnerabilities often originate from improper handling of memory pointers, buffer overflows, or race conditions that occur during concurrent access scenarios. The attack vector likely involves crafting specific input parameters or operational sequences that force the system into accessing memory regions outside of its allocated boundaries, resulting in the physical machine crash as described in the vulnerability report.
The operational impact of CVE-2023-41779 extends beyond simple system crashes to encompass broader infrastructure reliability concerns that could affect enterprise data center operations. Organizations utilizing ZTE's iRAI platform may experience unexpected service interruptions, data processing delays, and potential loss of operational continuity during exploitation attempts. The vulnerability's accessibility to users with common permissions creates an elevated risk profile, as it could be exploited by malicious insiders or external attackers who have gained basic access to the system. This scenario aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.004, which covers network denial of service attacks, and represents a significant threat to system availability and operational resilience. The crash condition could potentially be leveraged to create a persistent denial of service condition that would require manual intervention to restore system functionality, leading to operational costs and potential business disruption. Organizations relying on this platform for critical infrastructure management may face cascading effects throughout their data center operations, as system crashes could impact dependent services and applications.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2023-41779 should prioritize immediate patch deployment from ZTE, as this represents the most effective approach to resolving the underlying memory access flaw. Organizations should implement network segmentation and access controls to limit user permissions and reduce the attack surface available to potential exploiters. Monitoring systems should be enhanced to detect anomalous memory access patterns or system crash events that could indicate exploitation attempts. The implementation of robust input validation controls and memory management checks should be strengthened across all system components to prevent similar vulnerabilities from emerging in the future. Security teams should also consider implementing intrusion detection systems that can identify suspicious operational patterns consistent with memory access violations. Regular vulnerability assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify potential memory management weaknesses in the broader infrastructure ecosystem. Additionally, organizations should develop incident response procedures specifically tailored to handle system crash events and memory access violations to ensure rapid recovery and minimal operational impact during exploitation attempts. The vulnerability highlights the importance of comprehensive memory safety practices and adherence to secure coding standards throughout the software development lifecycle.