A vulnerability in the SSH service of Cisco IEC6400 Wireless Backhaul Edge Compute Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause the SSH service to stop responding.
This vulnerability exists because the SSH service lacks effective flood protection. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by initiating a denial of service (DoS) attack against the SSH port. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the SSH service to be unresponsive during the period of the DoS attack. All other operations remain stable during the attack.
Weakness
The product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource.
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