In IoTivity through 1.3.1, the CoAP server interface can be used for Distributed Denial of Service attacks using source IP address spoofing and UDP-based traffic amplification. The reflected traffic is 6 times bigger than spoofed requests. This occurs because the construction of a 4.01 Unauthorized response is mishandled. NOTE: the vendor states While this is an interesting attack, there is no plan for maintainer to fix, as we are migrating to IoTivity Lite.
The product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource.
| Name | Vendor | Start Version | End Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iotivity | Iotivity | * | 1.3.1 (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.