CVE-2018-18066

Description

From CVE.org

snmp_oid_compare in snmplib/snmp_api.c in Net-SNMP before 5.8 has a NULL Pointer Exception bug that can be used by an unauthenticated attacker to remotely cause the instance to crash via a crafted UDP packet, resulting in Denial of Service.

Mitigation

Configuring snmp with a secret community string makes this attack much more difficult to perform, as the attacker must guess the community string in order to exploit the vulnerability.

Protecting the snmp service with host firewall rules to prevent unauthorized hosts from sending messages to the snmp service will prevent this attack being carried out by users of other hosts on the network.

Either or both of these steps is recommended to prevent potential attackers from gaining extra information about network devices and topology, and from causing undue load to snmp services.

Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details

Info alert:Important note

CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).

CVSS v3 Score Breakdown

Red HatNVDcve.org
Base Score7.57.5N/A
Attack VectorNetworkNetworkN/A
Attack ComplexityLowLowN/A
Privileges RequiredNoneNoneN/A
User InteractionNoneNoneN/A
ScopeUnchangedUnchangedN/A
ConfidentialityNoneNoneN/A
Integrity ImpactNoneNoneN/A
Availability ImpactHighHighN/A

Vector

Red Hat: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

NVD: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Understanding the Weakness (CWE)

Availability

Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart

NULL pointer dereferences usually result in the failure of the process unless exception handling (on some platforms) is available and implemented. Even when exception handling is being used, it can still be very difficult to return the software to a safe state of operation.

Integrity,Confidentiality

Technical Impact: Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands; Read Memory; Modify Memory

In rare circumstances, when NULL is equivalent to the 0x0 memory address and privileged code can access it, then writing or reading memory is possible, which may lead to code execution.

Frequently Asked Questions

Want to get errata notifications? Sign up here.