A vulnerability in the Cisco AnyConnect VPN server of Cisco Meraki MX and Cisco Meraki Z Series Teleworker Gateway devices could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a DoS condition on an affected device.
This vulnerability is due to insufficient resource management while establishing SSL VPN sessions. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a series of crafted HTTPS requests to the VPN server of an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the Cisco AnyConnect VPN server to stop accepting new connections, preventing new SSL VPN connections from being established. Existing SSL VPN sessions are not impacted.
Note: When the attack traffic stops, the Cisco AnyConnect VPN server recovers gracefully without requiring manual intervention.
The product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource.
| Name | Vendor | Start Version | End Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meraki_mx65_firmware | Cisco | 17.6.0 (including) | 18.211.2 (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.