CVE-2024-23765 in Anybus X-Gateway AB7832-F
Summary
by MITRE • 06/27/2024
An issue was discovered on HMS Anybus X-Gateway AB7832-F 3 devices. The gateway exposes an unidentified service on port 7412 on the network. All the network services of the gateway become unresponsive after sending 85 requests to this port. The content and length of the frame does not matter. The device needs to be restarted to resume operations.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/27/2024
The CVE-2024-23765 vulnerability affects HMS Anybus X-Gateway AB7832-F 3 devices, presenting a critical denial of service condition that compromises the operational integrity of industrial network infrastructure. This vulnerability manifests through an exposed network service on port 7412 which operates as an unidentified protocol handler, creating an attack surface that lacks proper input validation and resource management mechanisms. The device's failure to properly handle network traffic on this specific port creates a predictable pattern of service degradation that can be exploited by malicious actors or accidental network traffic patterns.
The technical flaw underlying this vulnerability stems from inadequate resource management and protocol handling within the gateway's network stack implementation. When 85 requests are sent to port 7412, regardless of content or frame length, the service becomes unresponsive and remains non-functional until manual device restart occurs. This represents a classic resource exhaustion attack vector where the gateway's internal state machine fails to properly reset or recover from the repeated request pattern. The vulnerability demonstrates poor error handling and lacks proper circuit breaker or rate limiting mechanisms that would prevent such systematic degradation of service availability.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption to potentially compromise industrial control systems that rely on continuous network connectivity. In manufacturing environments where these gateways facilitate communication between operational technology and information technology systems, the device unresponsiveness can cascade into production line shutdowns, data collection failures, and real-time monitoring disruptions. The requirement for manual device restart creates additional operational overhead and potential safety risks in environments where immediate network restoration is critical for process control and emergency response protocols. This vulnerability particularly affects environments following industrial communication standards such as those defined by IEC 61158 and IEC 61850 where network reliability is paramount for system integrity.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on network segmentation and access control measures to prevent unauthorized access to the affected port. Network administrators should implement firewall rules to block external access to port 7412 while maintaining internal access for legitimate operational purposes. The implementation of network monitoring solutions that can detect and alert on excessive connection attempts to this specific port provides early warning capabilities for potential exploitation. Additionally, organizations should establish procedures for regular device health monitoring and implement automated restart mechanisms where possible, though these may not be sufficient to prevent the vulnerability itself. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-400 which addresses improper resource management and CWE-1321 which covers insufficient error handling in network services. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this represents a denial of service technique under T1499.004 with potential for lateral movement if the gateway serves as a communication bridge between network segments, and could be leveraged as a precursor to more sophisticated attacks targeting industrial control systems.