Cisco Security Advisory
Multiple Crafted IPv6 Packets Cause Reload
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Cisco Internetwork Operating System (IOS) Software is vulnerable to a Denial of Service (DoS) attack from crafted IPv6 packets when the device has been configured to process IPv6 traffic. This vulnerability requires multiple crafted packets to be sent to the device which may result in a reload upon successful exploitation.
Cisco has made free software available to address this vulnerability.
There are workarounds available to mitigate the effects.
This issue is tracked by CERT/CC VU#472582
This advisory is available at https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20050126-ipv6.
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This section provides details on affected products.
Vulnerable Products
Only the Cisco devices running IOS and configured for IPv6 are affected. A router will display all IPv6 enabled interfaces with the show ipv6 interface command.
An empty output or an error message will be displayed if IPv6 is disabled or unsupported on the system. In this case the system is not vulnerable.
Sample output of show ipv6 interface command is shown below for a system configured for IPv6.
Router#show ipv6 interface Serial1/0 is up, line protocol is up IPv6 is enabled, link-local address is FE80::A8BB:CCFF:FE00:D200 Global unicast address(es): 2001:1:33::3, subnet is 2001:1:33::/64 [TENTATIVE] Joined group address(es): FF02::1 FF02::1:FF00:3 FF02::1:FF00:D200 MTU is 1500 bytes ICMP error messages limited to one every 100 milliseconds ICMP redirects are enabled ND DAD is enabled, number of DAD attempts: 1 ND reachable time is 30000 milliseconds Router#
A router that has IPv6 enabled on a physical or logical interface is vulnerable to this issue even if ipv6 unicast-routing is globally disabled. The show ipv6 interface command can be used to determine whether IPv6 is enabled on any interface.
Products Confirmed Not Vulnerable
Products that are not running Cisco IOS are not affected.
Products running any version of Cisco IOS that do not have IPv6 configured interfaces are not vulnerable.
No other Cisco products are currently known to be affected by these vulnerabilities.
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IPv6 is the "Internet Protocol Version 6", designed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) to replace the current version Internet Protocol, IP Version 4 (IPv4).
A vulnerability exists in the processing of IPv6 packets that can be exploited to cause the reload of a system. Crafted packets received on logical interfaces (that is, tunnels including 6to4 tunnels) as well as physical interfaces can trigger this vulnerability.
Multiple crafted IPv6 packets need to be sent to exploit this vulnerability. Such crafted packets can be sent remotely.
This issue is documented in Cisco bug ID CSCed40933 ( registered customers only) .
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The effectiveness of any workaround 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 is the most appropriate for use in the intended network before it is deployed.
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 access control lists (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", available at http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/707/iacl.html, presents guidelines and recommended deployment techniques for infrastructure protection ACLs. Exceptions would include any devices which have a legitimate reason to access your infrastructure (for example, BGP peers, DNS servers, and so on). All other traffic must be able to traverse your network without terminating on any of your devices.
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Major Release
Availability of Repaired Releases
Affected 12.0-Based Release
Rebuild
Interim
Maintenance
12.0S
12.0(23)S and before are not vulnerable.
12.0(24)S6
12.0(25)S3
12.0(26)S2
12.0(27)S1
12.0(28)S
12.0SX
12.0(25)SX8
12.0SZ
12.0(27)SZ
Affected 12.2-Based Release
Rebuild
Interim
Maintenance
12.2B
12.2(2)B - 12.2(4)B7 Migrate to 12.2(13)T14 or later
12.2(4)B8 AND FWD Migrate to 12.3(7)T or later
12.2BC
Migrate to 12.3(9a)BC
12.2BX
Migrate to 12.3(7)XI1
12.2BZ
Migrate to 12.3(7)XI1
12.2CX
No plan.
12.2CZ
No plan.
12.2EW
12.2(18)EW1
12.2EWA
12.2(20)EWA
12.2JK
12.2(15)JK2
12.2MC
Migrate to 12.3(11)T
12.2S
12.2(14)S9
12.2(18)S5
12.2(20)S3
12.2(22)S1
12.2(25)S
12.2SE
12.2(25)SE
12.2SU
12.2(14)SU1
12.2SV
12.2(23)SV
12.2SW
12.2(23)SW
12.2SX
Migrate to 12.2(17d)SXB2 or later
12.2SXA
Migrate to 12.2(17d)SXB1 or later
12.2SXB
12.2(17d)SXB1
12.2SXD
12.2(18)SXD
12.2SY
Migrate to 12.2(17d)SXB2 or later
12.2SZ
Migrate to 12.2(20)S4
12.2T
12.2(13)T14
12.2(15)T12
12.2YT
Migrate to 12.2(15)T13 or later
12.2YU
Migrate to 12.3(4)T6 or later
12.2YV
Migrate to 12.3(4)T6 or later
12.2YZ
Migrate to 12.2(20)S4 or later
12.2ZC
Migrate to 12.3T or later
12.2ZD
Migrate to 12.3 or later
12.2ZE
Migrate to 12.3 or later
12.2ZF
Migrate to 12.3(4)T6 or later
12.2ZG
Migrate to 12.3(4)T6 or later
12.2ZH
Migrate to 12.3(4)T6 or later
12.2ZI
Migrate to 12.2(18)S or later
12.2ZJ
Migrate to 12.3 or later
12.2ZL
Migrate to 12.3(7)T or later
12.2ZN
Migrate to 12.3(2)T6 or later
12.2ZO
Migrate to 12.2(15)T12 or later
12.2ZP
Migrate to 12.3(8)XY or later
Affected 12.3-Based Release
Rebuild
Interim
Maintenance
12.3
12.3(3f)
12.3(5c)
12.3(6a)
12.3(9)
12.3BC
12.3(9a)BC
12.3B
12.3(5a)B2
12.3BW
Migrate to 12.3(5a)B2 or later
12.3JA
12.3(2)JA
12.3T
12.3(2)T6
12.3(4)T6
12.3(7)T
12.3XA
Migrate to 12.3(7)T or later
12.3XB
Migrate to 12.3(8)T or later
12.3XC
Migrate 12.3(2)XC3 or later
12.3XD
12.3(4)XD4
12.3XE
12.3(2)XE1
12.3XF
Migrate to 12.3(11)T or later
12.3XG
12.3(4)XG2
12.3XH
Migrate to 12.3(11)T or later
12.3XI
12.3(7)XI
12.3XJ
12.3(7)XJ
12.3XK
12.3(4)XK1
12.3XL
12.3(7)XL
12.3XM
12.3(7)XM
12.3XN
Migrate to 12.3(14)T or later
12.3XQ
12.3(4)XQ
12.3XR
12.3(7)XR
12.3XS
12.3(7)XS
12.3XT
12.3(2)XT
12.3XU
12.3(8)XU
12.3XX
12.3(8)XX
12.3XW
12.3(8)XW
12.3XY
12.3(8)XY
12.3XZ
12.3(2)XZ
12.3YA
12.3(8)YA
12.3YD
12.3(8)YD
12.3YE
12.3(4)YE
12.3YF
12.3(11)YF
12.3YG
12.3(8)YG
12.3YH
12.3(8)YH
When considering software upgrades, please also consult http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/products_security_advisories_listing.html 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) for assistance.
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The Cisco PSIRT is not aware of any public announcements or malicious use of the vulnerability described in this advisory.
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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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