CERT Advisory CA-2003-15 Cisco IOS Interface Blocked by IPv4 Packet

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CERT Advisory CA-2003-15 Cisco IOS Interface Blocked by IPv4 Packet

Original release date: July 16, 2003
Last revised: –
Source: CERT/CC

A complete revision history can be found at the end of this file.

Systems Affected

 * All  Cisco  devices  running  Cisco IOS software and configured to
   process Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) packets

Overview

A vulnerability in many versions of Cisco IOS could allow an intruder
to execute a denial-of-service attack against a vulnerable device.

I. Description

Cisco IOS is a very widely deployed network operating system. A
vulnerability in IOS could allow an intruder to execute a
denial-of-service attack against an affected device. Cisco has
published an advisory on this topic, available at
http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/707/cisco-sa-20030717-blocked.shtml
We strongly encourage sites using IOS to read this document and take
appropriate action.

The CERT/CC is tracking this issue as VU#411332. This reference number
corresponds to CVE candidate CAN-2003-0567.

II. Impact

By sending specially crafted IPv4 packets to an interface on a
vulnerable device, an intruder can cause the device to stop processing
packets destined to that interface. Quoting from Cisco's advisory:

"A device receiving these specifically crafted IPv4 packets will force
the inbound interface to stop processing traffic. The device may stop
processing packets destined to the router, including routing protocol
packets and ARP packets. No alarms will be triggered, nor will the
router reload to correct itself. This issue can affect all Cisco
devices running Cisco IOS software. This vulnerability may be
exercised repeatedly resulting in loss of availability until a
workaround has been applied or the device has been upgraded to a fixed
version of code."

III. Solution

Apply a patch from Cisco

Apply a patch as described in Cisco's Advisory.

Until a patch can be applied, you can mitigate the risks presented by
this vulnerability by judicious use of access control lists (ACLs).
The correct use of ACLs depends of your network topology.
Additionally, ACLs may degrade performace on some systems. We
recommend reviewing the following before applying ACLs

http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/707/cisco-sa-20030717-blocked.shtml#workarounds
http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/707/racl.html
http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/707/iacl.html

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The CERT Coordination Center thanks Cisco Systems of for notifying us
about this problem and for helping us to construct this advisory.

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Feedback about this advisory may be directed to the author, Shawn
Hernan

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This document is available from:
http://www.cert.org/advisories/CA-2003-15.html

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CERT/CC Contact Information

Email: [email protected]
Phone: +1 412-268-7090 (24-hour hotline)
Fax: +1 412-268-6989
Postal address:
CERT Coordination Center
Software Engineering Institute
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh PA 15213-3890
U.S.A.

CERT/CC personnel answer the hotline 08:00-17:00 EST(GMT-5) /
EDT(GMT-4) Monday through Friday; they are on call for emergencies
during other hours, on U.S. holidays, and on weekends.

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  Patent and Trademark Office.

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Revision History
July 16, 2003: Initial release

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