BGP vulnerabilities in Cisco IOS.Byline: jeevan@cpidubai.com (Staff) Cisco last week issued -- and updated -- a security advisory for its IOS (1) (Internetwork Operating System) An operating system from Cisco that is the primary control program used in its routers. IOS is widely used and robust system software that supports the common functions of all products under Cisco's CiscoFusion architecture. software. The vulnerability has to do with 4-byte Autonomous System numbers in BGP (Border Gateway Protocol) The routing protocol that is used to span autonomous systems on the Internet. It is a robust, sophisticated and scalable protocol that was developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). updates.<p>Cisco IOS software supporting IETF See Internet Engineering Task Force. IETF - Internet Engineering Task Force RFC 4893 for four octet An eight-bit storage unit. In the international community, octet is often used instead of byte. (jargon, networking) octet - Eight bits. This term is used in networking, in preference to byte, because some systems use the term "byte" for things that are not 8 bits long. AS number spaces in BGP are susceptible to denial of service attacks when handling BGP updates. There are two DoS vulnerabilities in the software, according to the advisory:<p>The first vulnerability could cause an affected device to reload when processing a BGP update that contains autonomous system (AS) path segments made up of more than one thousand autonomous systems.<p>The second vulnerability could cause an affected device to reload when the affected device processes a malformed mal·formed adj. Abnormally or faultily formed. BGP update that has been crafted to trigger the issue.<p>Cisco says it released free software updates to address these vulnerabilities. There are no workarounds available for the first vulnerability but there is one for the second.<p>Copyright 2009 IDG Middle East. All rights reserved. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
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