A vulnerability in the TCP syslog module of Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to exhaust the 1550-byte buffers on an affected device, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition. The vulnerability is due to a missing boundary check in an internal function. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by establishing a man-in-the-middle position between an affected device and its configured TCP syslog server and then maliciously modifying the TCP header in segments that are sent from the syslog server to the affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to exhaust buffer on the affected device and cause all TCP-based features to stop functioning, resulting in a DoS condition. The affected TCP-based features include AnyConnect SSL VPN, clientless SSL VPN, and management connections such as Secure Shell (SSH), Telnet, and HTTPS.
The product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource.
| Name | Vendor | Start Version | End Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adaptive_security_appliance_software | Cisco | 9.4(4) (including) | 9.4(4) (including) |
| Adaptive_security_appliance_software | Cisco | 9.8(2) (including) | 9.8(2) (including) |
Mitigation of resource exhaustion attacks requires that the target system either:
The first of these solutions is an issue in itself though, since it may allow attackers to prevent the use of the system by a particular valid user. If the attacker impersonates the valid user, they may be able to prevent the user from accessing the server in question.
The second solution is simply difficult to effectively institute – and even when properly done, it does not provide a full solution. It simply makes the attack require more resources on the part of the attacker.