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A specifically crafted Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) connection to a telnet or reverse telnet port of a Cisco device running Internetwork Operating System (IOS) may block further telnet, reverse telnet, Remote Shell (RSH), Secure Shell (SSH), and in some cases Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTP) access to the Cisco device. Data Link Switching (DLSw) and protocol translation connections may also be affected. Telnet, reverse telnet, RSH, SSH, DLSw and protocol translation sessions established prior to exploitation are not affected.
All other device services will operate normally. Services such as packet forwarding (excluding DLSw and protocol translation per above), routing protocols and all other communication to and through the device are not affected.
This vulnerability affects all Cisco devices that permit access via telnet or reverse telnet. Any IOS train without specific fixed releases listed in the Software Versions and Fixes section should be considered vulnerable.
Telnet, RSH and SSH are used for remote management of Cisco IOS devices. The SSH protocol is also used for Secure Copy (SCP), which allows an encryption-protected transfer of files to and from Cisco devices.
Data-link switching (DLSw) provides a means of transporting IBM Systems Network Architecture (SNA) and network basic input/output system (NetBIOS) traffic over an IP network. It serves as an alternative to source-route bridging (SRB), a protocol for transporting SNA and NetBIOS traffic in Token Ring environments that was widely deployed before the introduction of DLSw.
HTTP is also used for management of certain Cisco devices. IOS versions prior to12.2(15)T include HTTP server version 1.0, which, if configured, will be unresponsive on a device that is under exploitation. IOS versions after and including 12.2(15)T include HTTP server version 1.1, which is unaffected.
Reverse telnet is a feature that allows you to telnet to a Cisco device and then connect to a third device through an asynchronous serial connection; this configuration is often referred to as providing 'console server' functionality for connected devices such as hosts and router/switches as a form of out-of-band (OOB) management. For more information on reverse telnet, consult the following documents:
After a specially crafted TCP connection to an IOS device on TCP port 23 or the reverse telnet ports listed above, all subsequent telnet, reverse telnet, RSH (TCP port 514), SSH, SCP (SSH and SCP use TCP port 22), DLSw (TCP ports 2065 through 2067), protocol translation, and in some cases HTTP (TCP port 80) connections to the device experiencing exploitation will be unsuccessful. Any telnet, reverse telnet, RSH, SSH, SCP, DLSw, protocol translation, and HTTP sessions that are already established with the device will continue to function properly.
In Cisco IOS, telnet, reverse telnet, RSH, SSH, SCP, DLSw, protocol translation and some HTTP sessions are handled by a virtual terminal (VTY). Each telnet, reverse telnet, RSH, SSH and SCP, DLSw and protocol translation session session consumes a VTY. After successful exploitation, the Cisco device can no longer accept any subsequent VTY connections.
Though it is not possible to establish new telnet, reverse telnet, RSH, SSH, SCP, DLSw, protocol translation or HTTP connections to the device after a successful exploitation, the device is only vulnerable on TCP port 23 and the reverse telnet ports listed above.
Only remote access services that use VTYs are affected. This includes telnet, reverse telnet, RSH, SSH, SCP, DLSw, protocol translation and version 1.0 of the HTTP server. Other device services including, but not limited to, routing protocols, TACACS/RADIUS, Voice over IP (VoIP) and packet forwarding (excluding DLSw and protocol translation) are not affected.
The effectiveness of any workaround is dependent on specific customer situations such as product mix, network topology, traffic behavior, and organizational mission. Customers should consult with their service provider or support organization to ensure any applied workaround is the most appropriate for use in the intended network before it is deployed.
Note: Cisco Catalyst switch platforms that contain any version of the RouteSwitch Module (RSM), Route Switch Feature Card (RSFC), Multilayer Switch Module(MSM) or Multilayer Switch Feature Card (MSFC) are able to connect to thesemodules from the switch Supervisor module using the 'session' command. Althoughthe 'session' command uses telnet internally to connect to the MSM/MSFC, it isnot restricted by VTY ACLs.
Telnet and reverse telnet should be blocked as part of a Transit ACL controlling all access to the trusted network. Transit ACLs are considered a network security best practice and should be considered as a long-term addition to good network security, as well as a workaround for this specific vulnerability. The white paper entitled "Transit Access Control Lists: Filtering at Your Edge" presents guidelines and recommended deployment techniques for transit ACLs:
Although it is often difficult to block traffic transiting your network, it is possible to identify traffic which should never be allowed to target your infrastructure devices and block that traffic at the border of your network. Infrastructure ACLs are considered a network security best practice and should be considered as a long-term addition to good network security as well as a workaround for this specific vulnerability. The white paper entitled "Protecting Your Core: Infrastructure Protection Access Control Lists" presents guidelines and recommended deployment techniques for infrastructure protection ACLs:
For distributed platforms, rACLs may be an option starting in Cisco IOS Software Versions 12.0(21)S2 for the 12000 series GSR and 12.0(24)S for the 7500 series. The receive access lists protect the device from harmful traffic before the traffic can impact the route processor. Receive path ACLs are considered a network security best practice, and should be considered as a long-term addition to good network security, as well as a workaround for this specific vulnerability. The CPU load is distributed to the line card processors and helps mitigate load on the main route processor. The white paper entitled "GSR: Receive Access Control Lists" will help identify and allow legitimate traffic to your device and deny all unwanted packets:
Note: If you are using telnet to connect to the device, accidentallyclearing your TCP connection will disconnect your telnet session. If the IOSdevice has been exploited, it will not be possible to reconnect via telnet.Console access or a device reload will be required to restore service.
It is also possible to detect and clear hung TCP connections using SNMP. To detect a hung connection, an SNMP read-only community string must be configured on the device. To reset a connection, an SNMP read-write community string must be configured on the device.
Cisco is providing fixes for this vulnerability in all currently maintained IOS releases. No software upgrade is required in order to mitigate this vulnerability. See the information below regarding the available configuration workarounds. The software fixes are appearing in regularly scheduled maintenance releases of IOS software.
To determine the software running on a Cisco product, log in to the device and issue the show version command to display the system banner. Cisco IOS software will identify itself as "Internetwork Operating System Software" or simply "IOS". On the next line of output, the image name will be displayed between parentheses, followed by "Version" and the IOS release name. Other Cisco devices will not have the show version command or will give different output.
Each row of the Cisco IOS software table (below) describes a release train and the platforms or products for which it is intended. If a given release train is vulnerable, then the earliest possible releases that contain the fix (the "First Fixed Release") and the anticipated date of availability for each are listed in the "Rebuild" and "Maintenance" columns. A device running a release in the given train that is earlier than the release in a specific column (less than the First Fixed Release) is known to be vulnerable. The release should be upgraded at least to the indicated release or a later version (greater than or equal to the First Fixed Release label). When selecting a release, keep in mind the following definitions:
Rebuild: Constructed from the previous maintenance or major release in the same train, it contains the fix for a specific defect. Although it receives less testing, it contains only the minimal changes necessary to repair the vulnerability.
In all cases, customers should exercise caution to confirm that the devices to be upgraded contain sufficient memory and that current hardware and software configurations will continue to be supported properly by the new software release. If the information is not clear, contact the Cisco TAC for assistance as shown in the Obtaining Fixed Software section below.
To learn about Cisco security vulnerability disclosure policies and publications, see the Security Vulnerability Policy. This document also contains instructions for obtaining fixed software and receiving security vulnerability information from Cisco.
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