Cisco Security Advisory
Cisco Nexus 9000 Series Fabric Switches ACI Mode Link Layer Discovery Protocol Port Denial of Service Vulnerability
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CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:L/E:X/RL:X/RC:X
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A vulnerability in the Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP) for Nexus 9000 Series Fabric Switches in Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) mode could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to disable switching on a small form-factor pluggable (SFP) interface.
This vulnerability is due to incomplete validation of the source of a received LLDP packet. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted LLDP packet on an SFP interface to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to disable switching on the SFP interface, which could disrupt network traffic.
Cisco has released software updates that address this vulnerability. There are no workarounds that address this vulnerability.
This advisory is available at the following link:
https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-apic-lldap-dos-WerV9CFj
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Vulnerable Products
At the time of publication, this vulnerability affected Cisco Nexus 9000 Series Fabric Switches in ACI mode if they had an SFP interface installed.
For information about which Cisco software releases are vulnerable, see the Fixed Software section of this advisory.
Determine Whether an SFP Interface Is Installed
To determine whether an SPF interface is installed on a device, use the show interface brief | grep SFP CLI command. If this command returns output, then the device has at least one SFP interface installed. The following example shows the output on a device that has the SFP interface installed:
nxos# show interface brief | grep SFP
.
.
.
type is QSFP-100G-AOC5M
Products Confirmed Not Vulnerable
Only products listed in the Vulnerable Products section of this advisory are known to be affected by this vulnerability.
Cisco has confirmed that this vulnerability does not affect the following Cisco products:
- Firepower 1000 Series
- Firepower 2100 Series
- Firepower 4100 Series
- Firepower 9300 Security Appliances
- MDS 9000 Series Multilayer Switches
- Nexus 1000 Virtual Edge for VMware vSphere
- Nexus 1000V Switch for Microsoft Hyper-V
- Nexus 1000V Switch for VMware vSphere
- Nexus 3000 Series Switches
- Nexus 5500 Platform Switches
- Nexus 5600 Platform Switches
- Nexus 6000 Series Switches
- Nexus 7000 Series Switches
- Nexus 9000 Series Switches in standalone NX-OS mode
- UCS 6200 Series Fabric Interconnects
- UCS 6300 Series Fabric Interconnects
- UCS 6400 Series Fabric Interconnects
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There are no workarounds that address this vulnerability.
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When considering software upgrades, customers are advised to regularly consult the advisories for Cisco products, which are available from the Cisco Security Advisories page, to determine exposure and a complete upgrade solution.
In all cases, customers should ensure that the devices to be upgraded contain sufficient memory and confirm that current hardware and software configurations will continue to be supported properly by the new release. If the information is not clear, customers are advised to contact the Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC) or their contracted maintenance providers.
Cisco NX-OS Software
To help customers determine their exposure to vulnerabilities in Cisco NX-OS Software, Cisco provides the Cisco Software Checker to identify any Cisco Security Advisories that impact a specific Cisco NX-OS Software release and the earliest release that fixes the vulnerabilities that are described in each advisory (“First Fixed”). If applicable, the tool also returns the earliest release that fixes all the vulnerabilities described in all the advisories identified (“Combined First Fixed”).
Customers can use the Cisco Software Checker to search advisories in the following ways:
- Choose the software, platform, and one or more releases
- Upload a .txt file that includes a list of specific releases
- Enter the output of the show version command
After initiating a search, customers can customize the search to include all Cisco Security Advisories or one or more specific advisories.
Customers can also use the following form to determine whether a release is affected by any Cisco Security Advisory by choosing the Cisco NX-OS Software and platform and then entering a release-for example, 7.0(3)I7(5) for Cisco Nexus 3000 Series Switches or 14.0(1h) for Cisco NX-OS Software in ACI mode:
By default, the Cisco Software Checker includes results only for vulnerabilities that have a Critical or High Security Impact Rating (SIR). To include results for Medium SIR vulnerabilities, customers can use the Cisco Software Checker and check the Medium check box in the drop-down list under Impact Rating when customizing a search.
Additional Resources
For help determining the best Cisco NX-OS Software release for a Cisco Nexus Switch, see the following Recommended Releases documents. If a security advisory recommends a later release, Cisco recommends following the advisory guidance.
Cisco MDS Series Switches
Cisco Nexus 1000V for VMware Switch
Cisco Nexus 3000 Series Switches
Cisco Nexus 5500 Platform Switches
Cisco Nexus 5600 Platform Switches
Cisco Nexus 6000 Series Switches
Cisco Nexus 7000 Series Switches
Cisco Nexus 9000 Series Switches
Cisco Nexus 9000 Series ACI-Mode SwitchesTo determine the best release for Cisco UCS Software, see the Recommended Releases documents in the release notes for the device.
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The Cisco Product Security Incident Response Team (PSIRT) is not aware of any public announcements or malicious use of the vulnerability that is described in this advisory.
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Cisco would like to thank Adrien Peter of Synacktiv for reporting this vulnerability.
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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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Show LessVersion Description Section Status Date 1.0 Initial public release. - Final 2021-FEB-24
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