CVE-2022-20692

A vulnerability in the NETCONF over SSH feature of Cisco IOS XE Software could allow a low-privileged, authenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service condition (DoS) on an affected device. This vulnerability is due to insufficient resource management. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by initiating a large number of NETCONF over SSH connections. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to exhaust resources, causing the device to reload and resulting in a DoS condition on an affected device.

Weakness

The product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource.

Affected Software

Potential Mitigations

• 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.

Related Attack Patterns

• https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/147.html
• https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/227.html
• https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/492.html

References

• https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-ncossh-dos-ZAkfOdq8
• https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-ncossh-dos-ZAkfOdq8