Vulnerabilities > CVE-2021-34703 - Improper Initialization vulnerability in Cisco IOS
Summary
A vulnerability in the Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP) message parser of Cisco IOS Software and Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an attacker to trigger a reload of an affected device, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition. This vulnerability is due to improper initialization of a buffer. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability via any of the following methods: An authenticated, remote attacker could access the LLDP neighbor table via either the CLI or SNMP while the device is in a specific state. An unauthenticated, adjacent attacker could corrupt the LLDP neighbor table by injecting specific LLDP frames into the network and then waiting for an administrator of the device or a network management system (NMS) managing the device to retrieve the LLDP neighbor table of the device via either the CLI or SNMP. An authenticated, adjacent attacker with SNMP read-only credentials or low privileges on the device CLI could corrupt the LLDP neighbor table by injecting specific LLDP frames into the network and then accessing the LLDP neighbor table via either the CLI or SNMP. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the affected device to crash, resulting in a reload of the device.
Vulnerable Configurations
Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
- Leveraging Race Conditions This attack targets a race condition occurring when multiple processes access and manipulate the same resource concurrently and the outcome of the execution depends on the particular order in which the access takes place. The attacker can leverage a race condition by "running the race", modifying the resource and modifying the normal execution flow. For instance a race condition can occur while accessing a file, the attacker can trick the system by replacing the original file with his version and cause the system to read the malicious file.
- Leveraging Time-of-Check and Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) Race Conditions This attack targets a race condition occurring between the time of check (state) for a resource and the time of use of a resource. The typical example is the file access. The attacker can leverage a file access race condition by "running the race", meaning that he would modify the resource between the first time the target program accesses the file and the time the target program uses the file. During that period of time, the attacker could do something such as replace the file and cause an escalation of privilege.