CVE-2017-12319Cisco IOS XE Software Ethernet Virtual Private Network Border Gateway Protocol Denial-of-Service Vulnerability
CVE-2017-12319 is a improper input validation in Cisco IOS XE Software, rated medium (5.9 on CVSS 3.1).
Why this priority: Exploited in the wild: listed in CISA's KEV catalog.
Published · Updated · NVD status: Analyzed
What it is
The software trusts input it should check, so crafted values reach code that assumes they are well formed.
How it is reached
An attacker can exploit it over the network, without an account, and nobody has to click anything. Success also depends on conditions the attacker does not fully control.
What an attacker gains
A successful attack can take it offline. In practice, this kind of flaw lets an attacker drive the component into behaviour its authors did not intend.
Is it being exploited?
CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2022-03-03: it is being exploited in the wild. It can be exploited automatically, at scale. EPSS estimates a 5.2% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 93% of scored CVEs.
What to do
- Treat it as urgent: it is on CISA's KEV list. CISA's deadline for US federal agencies: 2022-03-24.
- Upgrade Cisco IOS XE Software to 16.3 or later.
- Until it is patched, keep it off the internet or behind a VPN, allowlist or authenticating proxy.
- Check exposed instances for signs of compromise, not only for the version.
Description from NVD
A vulnerability in the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) over an Ethernet Virtual Private Network (EVPN) for Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause the device to reload, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition, or potentially corrupt the BGP routing table, which could result in network instability. The vulnerability exists due to changes in the implementation of the BGP MPLS-Based Ethernet VPN RFC (RFC 7432) draft between IOS XE software releases. When the BGP Inclusive Multicast Ethernet Tag Route or BGP EVPN MAC/IP Advertisement Route update packet is received, it could be possible that the IP address length field is miscalculated. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted BGP packet to an affected device after the BGP session was established. An exploit could allow the attacker to cause the affected device to reload or corrupt the BGP routing table; either outcome would result in a DoS. The vulnerability may be triggered when the router receives a crafted BGP message from a peer on an existing BGP session. This vulnerability affects all releases of Cisco IOS XE Software prior to software release 16.3 that support BGP EVPN configurations. If the device is not configured for EVPN, it is not vulnerable. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCui67191, CSCvg52875.
What this means for your architecture.
A CVE names a product. Whether it matters depends on where that product sits in your systems: what reaches it, which trust boundary it guards and what it can reach once compromised. Veriom maps your components, their relationships and your trust boundaries from your code, cloud and delivery evidence, so you can see where a component like this sits. The radar itself does not look at your systems.
Components it touches
- Network edge devices: VPNs, firewalls, routers and gateways. They sit between the internet and internal networks, so a flaw in one is often the first step into everything behind it.
- Operating systems on servers, workstations or devices. Everything on the host inherits the flaw.
- Interfaces that accept external input. The flaw sits at the input boundary of the affected component.
Trust boundaries in play
- Internet-facing entry points. No account is needed. Any instance reachable from outside your perimeter, through a load balancer, gateway, VPN or exposed admin port, is in scope.
- At the input boundary of the affected component. An attacker who crosses it can drive the component into behaviour its authors did not intend.
Questions to answer about your own systems
- Where does Cisco IOS XE Software run in your systems, and at which version?
- Which of those instances can be reached from the internet or partner networks?
- What can it reach once compromised: which data stores, secrets and services?
Sources
- CVE records and CVSS scores from the NVD CVE API. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.
- Exploitation status from CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
- Exploit likelihood from FIRST’s Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), refreshed daily.
- Explanations are written by Veriom from fixed templates over each record’s data, not by a person reviewing each CVE. Descriptions are quoted from the records as published.