The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) project has recently assigned a unique identifier, CVE-2024-9409, to a security vulnerability classified as CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption. The existence of this vulnerability could cause a device to become unresponsive and lose communication due to the presence of a large volume of Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) packets within a network. In this long-read post, we will explore this security issue in greater depth, provide code snippets, links to original references, and detail the relevant exploits and mitigations.

Background

IGMP is a crucial protocol used to establish multicast group memberships in IP networks. This particular vulnerability relates to uncontrolled resource consumption, which poses a serious risk when the network experiences an enormous influx of IGMP packets. Even more alarming is the potential for attackers to take advantage of these conditions to compromise the network infrastructure and disrupt communications.

Exploit Details

The exploit hinges on the sheer volume of IGMP packets present within the network. Unchecked resource consumption could lead to the device becoming inundated with data traffic, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) scenario. In essence, the device will become unresponsive as it struggles to cope with the overwhelming flow of IGMP packets.

The following code snippet provides an example of how such an attack might look in Python

import socket
import struct

# Define malicious IP addresses
malicious_ips = ["192.168.1.100", "192.168.1.101"]

# Send IGMP packets with spoofed source IPs
for ip in malicious_ips:
    # Create IGMPv2 packet
    packet = struct.pack("4c2L", b'\x11', b'\x00', b'\x07', b'\x00', socket.htonl(xffffffff), socket.htonl(xeeeeeeee))

    s = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_RAW, socket.IPPROTO_IGMP)
    s.setsockopt(socket.IPPROTO_IP, socket.IP_HDRINCL, struct.pack('!HH', x450, 28))
    s.sendto(packet, (ip, ))
    s.close()

Mitigations and Remediation

To remediate this vulnerability and secure a network against similar exploits, organizations must proactively adopt several key precautions. The following measures are vital in addressing the CVE-2024-9409 issue:

1. Apply relevant vendor patches: Device manufacturers should release security patches to address this exploit. Organizations must remain vigilant in applying these updates to all potentially affected devices immediately upon release.

2. Implement network monitoring tools: Deploying network monitoring tools can help to detect malicious activity and identify when the network is being flooded with IGMP packets, allowing security teams to react promptly to potential threats.

3. Configure traffic rate limiting: Implementing traffic shaping and rate limiting measures can prevent IGMP floods from causing detrimental effects on network infrastructure, buffering, and communication.

4. Update firewall rules: Strengthening the network firewall rules can stop IGMP packets from being transmitted from untrusted sources and mitigate the risk of a successful attack.

5. Apply intrusion detection and prevention (IDP) technologies: IDP systems can provide real-time detection and prevention of unauthorized activity on the network, including traffic monitoring and incident response.

For further reference on this vulnerability, please refer to the following official resources

- The CVE project's entry for CVE-2024-9409: https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2024-9409
- CWE-400 Uncontrolled Resource Consumption: https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/400.html
- IGMP Protocol Specification: https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc2236

Conclusion

The CVE-2024-9409 vulnerability poses significant risks to IoT devices and network infrastructure. To effectively secure their networks from this and similar exploits, stakeholders must remain vigilant and implement comprehensive mitigation strategies, keeping their devices up to date and adopting a robust security posture.

Timeline

Published on: 11/13/2024 05:15:27 UTC
Last modified on: 11/19/2024 15:59:21 UTC