Summary

• Multiple vulnerabilities exist in the Cisco Optical Networking System (ONS) 15310 Multi-service Provisioning Platforms (MSPP), ONS 15327 MSPP, ONS 15454 MSPP, ONS 15454 Multi-service Transport Platform (MSTP) and the ONS 15600 MSPP. These vulnerabilities will affect Optical nodes that have the Common Control Cards connected to a Data Communications Network (DCN) and are enabled for Internet Protocol Version 4 (IP). Successful exploitation of these vulnerabilities will result in a denial of service (DoS) of the Common Control Cards.

  A separate vulnerability exists within the Cisco Transport Controller (CTC) applet launcher which may allow execution of arbitrary code on the CTC workstation. This software is downloaded from the Common Control Cards when a management connection is made to the Optical node.

  Cisco has made free software available to address these vulnerabilities for affected customers.

  There are workarounds available to mitigate the effects of these vulnerabilities.

  This advisory is posted at https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20060405-ons.

Affected Products

• This section provides details on affected products.

  Vulnerable Products

  The following Cisco ONS 15000 series platforms are vulnerable, if they are configured for either IP or OSPF on the LAN interface or secure mode EMS-to-network-element access, and if they are running unfixed releases of system software:

  • Cisco ONS 15310-CL Series
    
  • Cisco ONS 15327 Series
    
  • Cisco ONS 15454 MSPP
    
  • Cisco ONS 15454 MSTP
    
  • Cisco ONS 15600 Series
    

  Cisco Transport Controller versions 4.0.x and earlier are affected by the CTC vulnerability.

  Products Confirmed Not Vulnerable

  The following Cisco ONS 15000 series platforms are not vulnerable to the Cisco ONS vulnerabilities listed above:

  • Cisco ONS 15100 Series
    
  • Cisco ONS 15200 Series
    
  • Cisco ONS 15302, ONS 15305 and ONS 15310-MA platforms
    
  • Cisco ONS 15500 Series
    
  • Cisco ONS 15800 Series
    

  Cisco Transport Controller versions 4.1.0 and later are not affected by the CTC vulnerability.

  No other Cisco ONS products are currently known to be affected by these vulnerabilities.

  No other Cisco products are currently known to be affected by these vulnerabilities.

Details

• The affected Cisco ONS 15310-CL, ONS 15327, ONS 15454 MSPP/ONS 15454 MSTP, and ONS 15600 hardware is managed via the CTX, XTC, TCC2/TCC2+, and TSC control cards respectively (hereafter referred to purely as control card). These control cards are usually connected to a Data Communications Network (DCN). In this context the term DCN is used to denote the network that transports management information between a management station and the network entity (NE). This definition of DCN is sometimes referred to as Management Communication Network (MCN). The DCN is usually physically or logically separated from the customer network and isolated from the Internet. This limits the exposure to the exploitation of these vulnerabilities from the Internet.

  ACK Denial of Service (DoS) Attack

  This vulnerability is documented in Cisco bug ID: CSCei45910 ( registered customers only) : ACK Denial of Service (DoS) attack.

  This vulnerability applies to all Cisco ONS NEs when IP is configured on the Local Area Network (LAN) interface.

  IP on the LAN interface is enabled by default.

  NEs which are not enabled for IP on the LAN interface are not affected by this vulnerability.

  If an IP address has been entered into the IP address field on the CTC navigation tab, (Provisioning > Network > General), the device is enabled for IP and is vulnerable if running an affected version of software.

  The NEs are susceptible to an ACK Denial of Service (DoS) attack on multiple remote management TCP ports. Ports include:

  80:    HTTP
  443:   HTTPS
  1080:  SOCKS
  2361:  TL1
  3081:  TL1-LV
  3082:  TL1-RAW
  3083:  TL1-TELNET
  57790: non-secure Internet Inter-ORB Protocol (IIOP) port
  57791: Secure Socket Layer Inter-ORB Protocol (SSLIOP) port. 
  

  Note: Not all ports are open in all versions of system software.

  The control card(s) on the network entity will exhaust memory resources and be unable to open any new socket connections, and may reset under continued attack. An ACK DoS attack is conducted by not sending the final ACK required for a 3-way TCP handshake to complete, and instead sending an invalid response to move the connection to an invalid TCP state. Repeated attacks could cause both control cards to be reset at the same time.

  Control Card Resets with Crafted IP Packet

  This vulnerability is documented in Cisco bug ID: CSCsc51390 ( registered customers only) : Control card resets with crafted IP packet.

  This vulnerability applies to all Cisco ONS NEs when IP is configured on the LAN interface and secure mode for element management system (EMS)-to-network-element access is enabled. The NEs are susceptible to a DoS attack when receiving a specially crafted IP packet.

  NEs which are not enabled for secure mode EMS-to-network-element access are not affected by this vulnerability.

  Secure mode EMS-to-network-element access is disabled by default.

  A device is vulnerable if via CTC the Provisioning > Security > Access node level navigation tab has Access State checked for secure, and is not vulnerable if it is checked for non-secure.

  Repeated crafted IP packets would cause both the control cards to be reset at the same time.

  Control Card Resets with Crafted IP Packet

  This vulnerability is documented in Cisco bug ID: CSCsd04168 ( registered customers only) : Control card resets with crafted IP packet.

  This vulnerability applies to all Cisco ONS NEs in which IP is configured on the LAN interface. The NEs are susceptible to a Denial of Service (DoS) attack when receiving a specially crafted IP packet.

  NEs which are not enabled for IP on the LAN interface are not affected by this vulnerability.

  IP on the LAN interface is enabled by default.

  If an IP address has been entered into the IP address field on the CTC navigation tab, (Provisioning > Network > General), the device is enabled for IP and is vulnerable if running an affected version of software.

  Repeated crafted IP packets could cause both the control cards to be reset at the same tim.

  Malformed OSPF Packets Cause Control Cards to Reset

  This vulnerability is documented in Cisco bug ID: CSCsc54558 ( registered customers only) : Malformed OSPF packets cause control cards to reset.

  This vulnerability applies to all Cisco ONS NEs if Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) routing protocol is configured on the LAN interface of the control cards.

  OSPF is a routing protocol defined by RFC 2328 . It is designed to manage IP routing inside an Autonomous System (AS). OSPF packets use IP protocol number 89.

  The vulnerability exists in the processing of OSPF packets that can be exploited to cause a reset of the control cards. Since OSPF needs to process unicast packets as well as multicast packets, this vulnerability can be exploited remotely. It is also possible for an attacker to target multiple systems on the local segment at a time.

  NEs which are not enabled with OSPF on the LAN interface are not affected by this vulnerability.

  OSPF on the LAN interface is disabled by default.

  A device is vulnerable if via CTC the Provisioning > Network > OSPF node level navigation tab has the OSPF Active on LAN check box enabled, and is not vulnerable if the check box is not enabled.

  java.policy Permissions too Broad for CTC Launcher

  This vulnerability is documented in bug ID: CSCea25049 ( registered customers only) : java.policy permissions too broad for CTC Launcher.

  This vulnerability applies to all workstations that may have had CTC installed on them. CTC is a Java application that is installed in two locations; CTC is stored on the control cards and it is downloaded to the users workstation the first time they log into the NE with a new software release.

  During the CTC installation, an entry is made in the Java policy file(s) granting all permission to any software originating from the codeBase, or source at http://*/fs/LAUNCHER.jar.

  Example:

  grant codeBase "http://*/fs/LAUNCHER.jar" { permission java.security.AllPermission; };

  This may allow arbitrary code to be executed on the CTC computer, should a user of the computer with CTC installed, access any web page which runs Java code from /fs/LAUNCHER.jar location.

  The Java policy files are the java.policy file(s) in the public Java directories, typically ${java.home}/lib/security/java.policy where the Java Plugin is installed, and the .java.policy file (note the leading dot) in the user's home directory, typically ${user.home}/.java.policy.

  In CTC versions 4.1.0 and later the launcher.jar file is signed. Versions 4.1.0 and later will also detect the presence of the java.policy entry and post a dialog box offering the user the option to remove the entry.

Workarounds

• This section describes workarounds for these vulnerabilities.

  • The following general mitigation actions are relevant for all the listed vulnerabilities:
    Ensuring the DCN is physically or logically separated from the customer network and isolated from the Internet will limit the exposure to the exploitation of these vulnerabilities from the Internet or customer networks.
    
    Apply access control lists (ACLs) on routers / switches / firewalls installed in front of the vulnerable network devices such that TCP/IP traffic destined for the CTX, XTC, TCC2/TCC2+, or TSC control cards on the ONS is allowed only from the network management workstations. Refer to http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/707/tacl.html for examples on how to apply ACLs on Cisco routers.
    
    To prevent spoofed IP packets with the source IP address set to that of the network management station from reaching the management interface of the NE, leverage anti-spoofing techniques. For more information on leveraging ACLs for anti-spoofing, refer to http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/707/21.pdf and http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2827.txt.
    
    The Unicast Reverse Path Forwarding (Unicast RPF) feature helps to mitigate problems that are caused by forged IP source addresses that are passing through a router. Refer to http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/product/software/ios122/122cgcr/fsecur_c/fothersf/scfrpf.htm for more information.
    
  • CSCea25049 ( registered customers only) : java.policy permissions too broad for CTC Launcher
    Replace the * in the policy file entry with the IP address of the CTC login node. Duplicate the entry for multiple login nodes.
    Example:
    Vulnerable entry within Java.policy files:
    grant codeBase "http://*/fs/LAUNCHER.jar" { permission java.security.AllPermission; };
    Workaround entered within Java.policy files:
    grant codeBase "http://192.0.2.1/fs/LAUNCHER.jar" { permission java.security.AllPermission; };
    
    
  • CSCsc51390 ( registered customers only) : Control card resets with crafted IP Packet.
    A possible workaround is to have NEs disabled for secure mode EMS-to-network-element access.
    

    Caution: Cisco recommends that any remote management of a NE be conducted over a secure protocol, such as SSH, SSL, or SSLIOP.

  Cisco recommends that affected users upgrade to a fixed software version of code.

Fixed Software

• When considering software upgrades, also consult http://www.cisco.com/go/psirt and any subsequent advisories to determine exposure and a complete upgrade solution.

  In all cases, customers should exercise caution to be certain the devices to be upgraded contain sufficient memory and that current hardware and software configurations will continue to be supported properly by the new release. If the information is not clear, contact the Cisco Technical Assistance Center ("TAC") or your contracted maintenance provider for assistance.

  Vulnerability	Affected Major Release	First Fixed Release
  ACK DoS Attack (CSCei45910)	1.X.X	Migrate to 4.1.8.1 or later
  	4.0.X or earlier	Migrate to 4.1.8.1 or later
  	4.1.X	4.1.8.1
  	4.5.X	Migrate to 5.0.6 or later
  	4.6.X	4.6.6
  	4.7.X	Migrate to 5.0.6 or later
  	5.0.X	5.0.6
  	6.0.X	Not Vulnerable
  	6.2.X	Not Vulnerable
  	7.0.X	Not Vulnerable
  Crafted IP Packet (CSCsc51390)	4.0.X or earlier	Not Vulnerable
  	4.1.X	Not Vulnerable
  	4.5.X	Not Vulnerable
  	4.6.X	Not Vulnerable
  	4.7.X	Not Vulnerable
  	5.0.X	Not Vulnerable
  	6.0.X	Migrate to 6.2.0 or later
  	6.2.X	Not Vulnerable
  	7.0.X	Not Vulnerable
  Crafted IP Packet (CSCsd04168)	4.1.X or earlier	4.1.8.1
  	4.5.x	Not Vulnerable
  	4.6.X	Not Vulnerable
  	4.7.X	Not Vulnerable
  	5.0.X	Not Vulnerable
  	6.0.X	Not Vulnerable
  	6.2.X	Not Vulnerable
  	7.0.X	Not Vulnerable
  Malformed OSPF (CSCsc54558)	4.0.X or earlier	Migrate to 4.1.8.1 or later
  	4.1.X	4.1.8.1
  	4.5.X	Migrate to 6.2.0 or later
  	4.6.X	Migrate to 6.2.0 or later
  	4.7.0	Migrate to 6.2.0 or later
  	5.0.X	Migrate to 6.2.0 or later
  	6.0.X	Migrate to 6.2.0 or later
  	6.2.X	Not Vulnerable
  	7.0.X	Not Vulnerable
  CTC (CSCea25049)	1.X.X	Migrate to 4.1.0 or later
  	4.0.X or earlier	Migrate to 4.1.0 or later
  	4.1.X or later	Not Vulnerable

Exploitation and Public Announcements

• The Cisco PSIRT is not aware of any public announcements or malicious use of the vulnerability described in this advisory.

URL

• https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20060405-ons

Revision History

• Revision 1.0

  2006-April-05

  Initial public release

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