CVE-2023-46273 in IQ Engine
Summary
by MITRE • 09/14/2026
Bonjour Gateway in Extreme Networks IQ Engine before 10.6r1a, and through 10.6r4 before 10.6r5, has an ah_bgd buffer overflow via ah_event_send.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/14/2026
The Bonjour Gateway service within the Extreme Networks IQ Engine software is susceptible to a critical buffer overflow vulnerability that affects multiple versions of the platform. Specifically, systems running version prior to 10.6r1a and those in the range from 10.6r2 through 10.6r4 are at risk when they have not been updated to version 10.6r5 or later. This vulnerability resides within the ah_bgd component, which is responsible for handling Bonjour gateway operations, a service commonly used for automatic discovery of devices and services on an IP network. The core technical flaw involves improper bounds checking during memory allocation and copy operations associated with event processing functions.
The specific mechanism triggering this vulnerability is the ah_event_send function. When this function processes incoming events related to Bonjour service advertisements or queries, it fails to adequately validate the length of input data before copying it into a fixed-size buffer on the stack or heap. This lack of rigorous boundary verification allows an attacker who can interact with the network interface handling these protocols to supply a specially crafted packet containing more data than the allocated buffer can hold. As a result, excess data overwrites adjacent memory locations, leading to a classic buffer overflow condition that corrupts program execution flow and potentially grants unauthorized control over the affected system processes.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses severe risks including remote code execution, denial of service, or privilege escalation depending on how the overwritten memory is exploited. An attacker could leverage this flaw to execute arbitrary commands with the privileges of the ah_bgd process, which may have significant access rights within the network infrastructure management plane. This compromises the integrity and availability of the IQ Engine platform, potentially allowing lateral movement across the managed network or disruption of critical network monitoring and control functions. The impact is particularly acute in environments where Bonjour services are actively used for device discovery, as this increases the attack surface available to malicious actors on the local subnet.
This vulnerability aligns with Common Weakness Enumeration identifier CWE-120, which describes buffer copy without checking size limits, a fundamental error in memory management often found in C and C++ applications. Furthermore, from an adversary tactics perspective, exploitation of this flaw relates to ATT&CK technique T1190, Exploit Public-Facing Application, as it targets a service that may be exposed or accessible within trusted network segments where Bonjour traffic is permitted. It also touches upon privilege escalation vectors if the compromised process runs with elevated privileges relative to other system components.
Mitigation strategies primarily involve upgrading the Extreme Networks IQ Engine software to version 10.6r5 or any later release where this buffer overflow has been patched by implementing proper input validation and bounds checking in the ah_event_send function. In cases where immediate patching is not feasible, network segmentation should be enforced to restrict Bonjour traffic from untrusted sources. Additionally, deploying intrusion detection systems with signatures capable of identifying anomalous packet sizes or malformed Bonjour packets can provide a layer of defense against exploitation attempts. Regular security audits and adherence to secure coding standards that mandate rigorous memory safety checks are essential for preventing similar vulnerabilities in future software updates.