A vulnerability in the interactions between the DHCP and TFTP features for Cisco Small Business 300 Series (Sx300) Managed Switches could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause the device to become low on system memory, which in turn could lead to an unexpected reload of the device and result in a denial of service (DoS) condition on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to a failure to free system memory when an unexpected DHCP request is received. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted DHCP packet to the targeted device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause an unexpected reload of the device.
The product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource.
| Name | Vendor | Start Version | End Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sf302-08pp_firmware | Cisco | * | 1.4.10.6 (excluding) |
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.