Vulnerable Products

Products Confirmed Not Vulnerable

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Secure shell (SSH) was developed as a secure replacement for the telnet, ftp, rlogin, rsh, and rcp protocols, which allow for the remote access of devices. The main difference between SSH and older protocols is that SSH provides strong authentication, guarantees confidentiality, and uses encrypted transactions.

The server side of the SSH implementation in Cisco IOS contains multiple vulnerabilities that allow an unauthenticated user to generate a spurious memory access or, in certain cases, reload the device. If the attacker is able to reload the device, these vulnerabilities could be repeatedly exploited to cause an extended Denial of Service (DoS) condition.

A device with the SSH server enabled is vulnerable.

These vulnerabilities are documented in Cisco Bug IDs:

• CSCsk42419 ( registered customers only)
  
• CSCsk60020 ( registered customers only)
  
• CSCsh51293 ( registered customers only)
  

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Cisco is providing scores for the vulnerabilities in this advisory based on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS). The CVSS scoring in this Security Advisory is done in accordance with CVSS version 2.0.

Cisco will provide a base and temporal score. Customers can then compute environmental scores to assist in determining the impact of the vulnerability in individual networks.

CVSS is a standards-based scoring method that conveys vulnerability severity and helps determine urgency and priority of response.

Cisco has provided an FAQ to answer additional questions regarding CVSS at

http://www.cisco.com/web/about/security/intelligence/cvss-qandas.html.

Cisco has also provided a CVSS calculator to help compute the environmental impact for individual networks at

http://intellishield.cisco.com/security/alertmanager/cvss.

SSHv2 spurious memory access Calculate the environmental score of CSCsk42419
CVSS Base Score - 7.8
Access Vector	Access Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality Impact	Integrity Impact	Availability Impact
Network	Low	None	None	None	Complete
CVSS Temporal Score - 6.4
Exploitability				Remediation Level	Report Confidence
Functional				Official-Fix	Confirmed

SSHv2 spurious memory access Calculate the environmental score of CSCsk60020
CVSS Base Score - 7.8
Access Vector	Access Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality Impact	Integrity Impact	Availability Impact
Network	Low	None	None	None	Complete
CVSS Temporal Score - 6.4
Exploitability				Remediation Level	Report Confidence
Functional				Official-Fix	Confirmed

Spurious memory access when SSH packets received Calculate the environmental score of CSCsh51293
CVSS Base Score - 7.8
Access Vector	Access Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality Impact	Integrity Impact	Availability Impact
Network	Low	None	None	None	Complete
CVSS Temporal Score - 6.4
Exploitability				Remediation Level	Report Confidence
Functional				Official-Fix	Confirmed

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Successful exploitation of these vulnerabilities may result in a spurious memory access or, in certain cases, reload the device potentially resulting in a DoS condition.

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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.

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).

For more information on the terms "Rebuild" and "Maintenance," consult the following URL: http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/620/1.html.

IOS releases prior to 12.4(7), 12.4(13d)JA, and 12.4(9)T are not affected by this vulnerability.

Major Release	Availability of Repaired Releases
Affected 12.0-Based Releases	First Fixed Release	Recommended Release
There are no affected 12.0 based releases
Affected 12.1-Based Releases	First Fixed Release	Recommended Release
There are no affected 12.1 based releases
Affected 12.2-Based Releases	First Fixed Release	Recommended Release
There are no affected 12.2 based releases
Affected 12.3-Based Releases	First Fixed Release	Recommended Release
There are no affected 12.3 based releases
Affected 12.4-Based Releases	First Fixed Release	Recommended Release
12.4	12.4(13f) 12.4(16b) 12.4(17a) 12.4(18)	12.4(18b)
12.4JA	Only 12.4(13d)JA and 12.4(13d)JA1 are vulnerable, all other 12.4JA releases are not affected.	12.4(16b)JA3
12.4JK	Not Vulnerable
12.4JMA	Not Vulnerable
12.4JMB	Not Vulnerable
12.4JMC	Not Vulnerable
12.4JX	Not Vulnerable
12.4MD	Not Vulnerable
12.4MR	12.4(16)MR2	12.4(16)MR
12.4SW	12.4(15)SW1	12.4(15)SW1
12.4T	12.4(9)T6 12.4(11)T4 12.4(15)T2 12.4(20)T	12.4(15)T5
12.4XA	Not Vulnerable
12.4XB	Not Vulnerable
12.4XC	Not Vulnerable
12.4XD	Not Vulnerable
12.4XE	Vulnerable; first fixed in 12.4T	12.4(15)T5
12.4XF	Vulnerable; first fixed in 12.4T	12.4(15)T5
12.4XG	Not Vulnerable
12.4XJ	Vulnerable; first fixed in 12.4T	12.4(15)T5
12.4XK	Vulnerable; first fixed in 12.4T	12.4(15)T5
12.4XL	Not Vulnerable
12.4XM	Not Vulnerable
12.4XN	Not Vulnerable
12.4XQ	Not Vulnerable
12.4XT	Not Vulnerable
12.4XV	Vulnerable; contact TAC
12.4XW	12.4(11)XW6	12.4(11)XW6
12.4XY	Not Vulnerable
12.4XZ	Not Vulnerable

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If disabling the IOS SSH Server is not feasible, the following workarounds may be useful to some customers in their environments.

Telnet

Telnet is not vulnerable to the issue described in this advisory and may be used as an insecure alternative to SSH. Telnet does not encrypt the authentication information or data; therefore, it should only be enabled for trusted local networks.

VTY Access Class

It is possible to limit the exposure of the Cisco device by applying a VTY access class to allow only known, trusted hosts to connect to the device via SSH.

For more information on restricting traffic to VTYs, please consult: http://cisco.com/en/US/products/sw/iosswrel/ps1835/products_command_reference_chapter09186a00800873c8.html#wp1017389.

The following example permits access to VTYs from the 192.168.1.0/24 netblock and the single IP address 172.16.1.2 while denying access from anywhere else:

Router(config)# access-list 1 permit 192.168.1.0 0.0.0.255
Router(config)# access-list 1 permit host 172.16.1.2
Router(config)# line vty 0 4
Router(config-line)# access-class 1 in

Different Cisco platforms support different numbers of terminal lines. Check your device's configuration to determine the correct number of terminal lines for your platform.

Infrastructure ACLs (iACL)

Although it is often difficult to block traffic transiting your network, it is possible to identify traffic that 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 ACL example shown below should be included as part of the deployed infrastructure access-list, which will protect all devices with IP addresses in the infrastructure IP address range.

A sample access list for devices running Cisco IOS is below:

!--- Permit SSH services from trusted hosts destined 
!--- to infrastructure addresses.


access-list 150 permit tcp TRUSTED_HOSTS MASK INFRASTRUCTURE_ADDRESSES MASK eq 22


!--- Deny SSH packets from all other sources destined to infrastructure addresses.


access-list 150 deny   tcp any INFRASTRUCTURE_ADDRESSES MASK eq 22


!--- Permit all other traffic to transit the device.


access-list 150 permit IP any any

interface serial 2/0
  ip access-group 150 in

The white paper titled "Protecting Your Core: Infrastructure Protection Access Control Lists" presents guidelines and recommended deployment techniques for infrastructure protection access lists. This white paper can be obtained here: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/tech/tk648/tk361/technologies_white_paper09186a00801a1a55.shtml.

Control Plane Policing (CoPP)

The Control Plane Policing (CoPP) feature may be used to mitigate these vulnerabilities. In the following example, only SSH traffic from trusted hosts and with 'receive' destination IP addresses is permitted to reach the route processor (RP).

Note: Dropping traffic from unknown or untrusted IP addresses may affect hosts with dynamically assigned IP addresses from connecting to the Cisco IOS device.

access-list 152 deny   tcp TRUSTED_ADDRESSES MASK any eq 22
    access-list 152 permit tcp any any eq 22
    !
    class-map match-all COPP-KNOWN-UNDESIRABLE
     match access-group 152
    !
    !
    policy-map COPP-INPUT-POLICY
     class COPP-KNOWN-UNDESIRABLE
      drop
    !
    control-plane
     service-policy input COPP-INPUT-POLICY

In the above CoPP example, the ACL entries that match the exploit packets with the "permit" action result in these packets being discarded by the policy-map "drop" function, while packets that match the "deny" action are not affected by the policy-map drop function.

CoPP is available in Cisco IOS release trains 12.0S, 12.2SX, 12.2S, 12.3T, 12.4, and 12.4T.

Additional information on the configuration and use of the CoPP feature can be found at the following URL: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/iosswrel/ps6537/ps6586/ps6642/prod_white_paper0900aecd804fa16a.html.

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Cisco has made free software available to address this vulnerability for affected customers. Prior to deploying software, customers should consult their maintenance provider or check the software for feature set compatibility and known issues specific to their environment.

Customers may only install and expect support for the feature sets they have purchased. By installing, downloading, accessing or otherwise using such software upgrades, customers agree to be bound by the terms of Cisco's software license terms found at http://www.cisco.com/public/sw-license-agreement.html, or as otherwise set forth at Cisco.com Downloads at http://www.cisco.com/public/sw-center/sw-usingswc.shtml.

Do not contact either "psirt@cisco.com" or "security-alert@cisco.com" for software upgrades.

Customers with Service Contracts

Customers with contracts should obtain upgraded software through their regular update channels. For most customers, this means that upgrades should be obtained through the Software Center on Cisco's worldwide website at http://www.cisco.com.

Customers using Third-party Support Organizations

Customers whose Cisco products are provided or maintained through prior or existing agreement with third-party support organizations such as Cisco Partners, authorized resellers, or service providers should contact that support organization for guidance and assistance with the appropriate course of action in regards to this advisory.

The effectiveness of any workaround or fix is dependent on specific customer situations such as product mix, network topology, traffic behavior, and organizational mission. Due to the variety of affected products and releases, customers should consult with their service provider or support organization to ensure any applied workaround or fix is the most appropriate for use in the intended network before it is deployed.

Customers without Service Contracts

Customers who purchase direct from Cisco but who do not hold a Cisco service contract and customers who purchase through third-party vendors but are unsuccessful at obtaining fixed software through their point of sale should get their upgrades by contacting the Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC). TAC contacts are as follows.

• +1 800 553 2447 (toll free from within North America)
  
• +1 408 526 7209 (toll call from anywhere in the world)
  
• e-mail: tac@cisco.com
  

Have your product serial number available and give the URL of this notice as evidence of your entitlement to a free upgrade. Free upgrades for non-contract customers must be requested through the TAC.

Refer to http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/687/Directory/DirTAC.shtml for additional TAC contact information, including special localized telephone numbers and instructions and e-mail addresses for use in various languages.

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

This vulnerability was discovered by Cisco internal testing and customer service requests.

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THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS AND DOES NOT IMPLY ANY KIND OF GUARANTEE OR WARRANTY, INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR USE. YOUR USE OF THE INFORMATION ON THE DOCUMENT OR MATERIALS LINKED FROM THE DOCUMENT IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. CISCO RESERVES THE RIGHT TO CHANGE OR UPDATE THIS DOCUMENT AT ANY TIME.

A stand-alone copy or Paraphrase of the text of this document that omits the distribution URL in the following section is an uncontrolled copy, and may lack important information or contain factual errors.

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This advisory is posted on Cisco's worldwide website at http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/707/cisco-sa-20080521-ssh.shtml.

In addition to worldwide web posting, a text version of this notice is clear-signed with the Cisco PSIRT PGP key and is posted to the following e-mail and Usenet news recipients.

• cust-security-announce@cisco.com
  
• first-teams@first.org
  
• bugtraq@securityfocus.com
  
• vulnwatch@vulnwatch.org
  
• cisco@spot.colorado.edu
  
• cisco-nsp@puck.nether.net
  
• full-disclosure@lists.grok.org.uk
  
• comp.dcom.sys.cisco@newsgate.cisco.com
  

Future updates of this advisory, if any, will be placed on Cisco's worldwide website, but may or may not be actively announced on mailing lists or newsgroups. Users concerned about this problem are encouraged to check the above URL for any updates.

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Revision 1.0

2008-May-21

Initial public release.