[NEWS] Cisco IOS Firewall Authentication Proxy for FTP and Telnet Sessions Buffer Overflow

From: SecuriTeam (support_at_securiteam.com)
Date: 09/08/05

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      Cisco IOS Firewall Authentication Proxy for FTP and Telnet Sessions Buffer
    Overflow
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------

    SUMMARY

    The Cisco IOS Firewall Authentication Proxy for FTP and/or Telnet Sessions
    feature in specific versions of Cisco IOS software is vulnerable to a
    remotely-exploitable buffer overflow condition.

    Devices that do not support, or are not configured for Firewall
    Authentication Proxy for FTP and/or Telnet Services are not affected.

    Devices configured with only Authentication Proxy for HTTP and/or HTTPS
    are not affected.

    Only devices running certain versions of Cisco IOS are affected.

    Cisco has made free software available to address this vulnerability.
    There are workarounds available to mitigate the effects of the
    vulnerability.

    DETAILS

    Vulnerable Products
    Devices that are running the following release trains of Cisco IOS are
    affected if Firewall Authentication Proxy for FTP and/or Telnet Sessions
    is configured and applied to an active interface.

     * 12.2ZH and 12.2ZL based trains
     * 12.3 based trains
     * 12.3T based trains
     * 12.4 based trains
     * 12.4T based trains

    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 Cisco IOS
    release name. Other Cisco devices will not have the show version command,
    or will give different output.

    The following example identifies a Cisco 7200 router running Cisco IOS
    release 12.3(10a) with an installed image name of C7200-JK8O3S-M.

    Router#show version
    Cisco Internetwork Operating System Software
    IOS (tm) 7200 Software (C7200-JK8O3S-M), Version 12.3(10a), RELEASE
    SOFTWARE (fc2)
    Copyright (c) 1986-2004 by cisco Systems, Inc.

    Additional information about Cisco IOS release naming can be found at
    <http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/620/1.html>
    http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/620/1.html.

    Refer to the Details section for more information about affected and
    unaffected configurations.

    Products Confirmed Not Vulnerable
     * Products that are not running Cisco IOS are not affected
     * Products that are running Cisco IOS versions 12.2 and earlier
    (including 12.0S) are not affected. (excluding 12.2ZH and 12.2ZL)
     * Products that are running Cisco IOS are not affected unless they are
    configured for Firewall Authentication Proxy for FTP and/or Telnet
    Sessions.
     * Products that are running Cisco IOS XR are not affected.

    No other Cisco products are currently known to be affected by this
    vulnerability.

    Details
    The Cisco IOS Firewall Authentication Proxy feature allows network
    administrators to apply specific security policies on a per-user basis.
    With the Firewall Authentication Proxy for FTP and/or Telnet Sessions
    feature, users can log into the network services via FTP and/or Telnet,
    and their specific access profiles are automatically retrieved and applied
    from a Remote Authentication Dial In User Service (RADIUS), or Terminal
    Access Controller Access Control System Plus (TACACS+) authentication
    server.

    Cisco IOS Software is vulnerable to a Denial of Service (DoS) and
    potentially an arbitrary code execution attack when processing the
    user authentication credentials from an Authentication Proxy Telnet/FTP
    session. To exploit this vulnerability an attacker must first complete a
    TCP connection to the IOS device running affected software and receive an
    auth-proxy authentication prompt.

    This vulnerability is documented in the Cisco Bug Toolkit as Bug ID
    CSCsa54608 (registered customers only)

    To determine if your device is running Firewall Authentication Proxy for
    FTP and/or Telnet Sessions feature, log into the device and issue the show
    ip auth-proxy configuration command to display the configuration of
    Firewall Authentication Proxy services. The following example identifies
    Firewall Authentication Proxy services running for Telnet and FTP under
    the proxy rule name proxy_example.

    Router#show ip auth-proxy configuration
    Authentication global cache time is 60 minutes
    Authentication global absolute time is 0 minutes
    Authentication Proxy Watch-list is disabled

    Authentication Proxy Rule Configuration
    Auth-proxy name proxy_example
            ftp list not specified auth-cache-time 60 minutes
            telnet list not specified auth-cache-time 60 minutes

    The following will be seen if Firewall Authentication Proxy services are
    not enabled but supported in your IOS version:

    Router#show ip auth-proxy configuration
    Authentication global cache time is 60 minutes
    Authentication global absolute time is 0 minutes
    Authentication Proxy Watch-list is disabled

    Router#

    The following will be seen if running a version of IOS that does not
    support Firewall Authentication Proxy services:

    Router#show ip auth-proxy configuration
                    ^
    % Invalid input detected at '^' marker.

    Router#

    A router that has Firewall Authentication Proxy services assigned to an
    interface will have ip auth-proxy command under an interface in the show
    running-config output.

    The following example identifies Firewall Authentication Proxy services
    running under the proxy rule name "proxy_example" applied to the interface
    Ethernet 2/1:

    Router#show ip auth-proxy configuration
    Authentication global cache time is 60 minutes
    Authentication global absolute time is 0 minutes
    Authentication Proxy Watch-list is disabled

    Authentication Proxy Rule Configuration
    Auth-proxy name proxy_example
            ftp list not specified auth-cache-time 60 minutes
            telnet list not specified auth-cache-time 60 minutes

    Router#show running-config
    !
    !
    !
    interface Ethernet2/1
     ip address 10.1.1.1 255.255.255.0
     ip auth-proxy proxy_example
    !
    !
    !

    Additional information about Cisco IOS Firewall Authentication Proxy
    services refer to:
     
    <http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/product/software/ios120/120newft/120t/120t5/iosfw2/iosfw2_1.htm> Cisco IOS Firewall Authentication Proxy.

    Additional information about Cisco IOS Firewall Authentication Proxy for
    FTP and/or Telnet Sessions refer to:
     
    <http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/product/software/ios123/123newft/123_1/ftp_tel.htm> Firewall Authentication Proxy for FTP and Telnet Sessions

    Impact
    Successful exploitation of the vulnerability on Cisco IOS may result in a
    reload of the device or execution of arbitrary code. Repeated exploitation
    could result in a sustained DoS attack or execution of arbitrary code on
    Cisco IOS devices.

    Software Versions and Fixes
    The following link provides information on affected versions and their
    appropriate patches:
     
    <http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/707/cisco-sa-20050907-auth_proxy.shtml#software> http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/707/cisco-sa-20050907-auth_proxy.shtml#software

    Workarounds
    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.

    Disable Cisco IOS Firewall Authentication Proxy feature for Telnet/FTP
    sessions
    In networks where Cisco IOS Firewall Authentication Proxy feature for
    Telnet/FTP sessions is not required but enabled, disabling the feature on
    an IOS device will eliminate exposure to this vulnerability. On a router
    which is configured for Cisco IOS Firewall Authentication Proxy feature
    for Telnet/FTP sessions, this must be done by issuing the command:
    "no ip auth-proxy name 'auth-proxy-name' {ftp | telnet}"

    Deploy Cisco IOS Firewall Authentication Proxy feature for HTTP/HTTPS
    sessions
    Configure the device with Cisco IOS Firewall Authentication Proxy feature
    for HTTP and/or HTTPS sessions and allow the Telnet and FTP services
    within the per-user TACACS+/RADIUS profile. Disable Authentication proxy
    for Telnet/FTP sessions to eliminate exposure.

    An example of the configuration statements for HTTP session Auth-proxy is:
             ! Configure auth-proxy for http session authentication
             ip auth-proxy name http-proxy http
             ! Configure the router's web server to service auth-proxy
    authentication attempts
             ip http server
             ! Set the HTTP server authentication method to AAA
             ip http authentication aaa

    Additional auth-proxy and web server configuration settings are available.
    For details see:
     
    <http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/product/software/ios120/120newft/120t/120t5/iosfw2/iosfw2_1.htm> Cisco IOS Firewall Authentication Proxy

    After successful authentication via HTTP/HTTPS, the user can initiate
    required FTP or Telnet sessions. The example shown below for Cisco Secure
    Windows (TACACS+) server profile Group setting allows FTP and Telnet as
    part of access-list entry proxyacl#2=permit tcp any any

             priv-lvl=15
             proxyacl#1=permit icmp any any
             proxyacl#2=permit tcp any any
             proxyacl#3=permit udp any any

    Mitigations
    Not all of the mitigation strategies listed will work for all customers.
    Some of the workarounds listed are dependent on which versions and
    feature-sets of IOS you have in your network. These mitigation
    strategies, may help reduce exposure to this vulnerability. To eliminate
    exposure to this vulnerability, customers should apply one of the
    workarounds listed above, or upgrade to a fixed release of Cisco IOS.

    Access Control Lists (ACLs)
    Deploying IP access-lists can mitigate the effects of this vulnerability
    by allowing Firewall Authentication Proxy access only from trusted
    subnets. This feature must be used in conjunction with interface
    access-lists to ensure that IP traffic from un-trusted subnets is dropped
    by the router and not forwarded around the auth-proxy feature. Once the IP
    access-list is created, it is applied to the Authentication proxy by
    adding the keyword "list" followed by the IP access-list name or number.
    In the example below the trusted network is 169.160.160.0/24 and the
    auth-proxy router interface is 10.66.65.47. Example:

             ! Permit trusted network 169.160.160.0/24 to access auth-proxy
             access-list 105 permit tcp 169.160.160.0 0.0.0.255 any eq telnet
             !
             ! Deny all IP traffic that is not authenticated by auth-proxy
             ! Note: Management and Control traffic to the router itself would
             ! need to be allowed in this access-list
             access-list 106 deny ip any any
             !
             ! Modify the telnet auth-proxy config to use access-list 105
             ip auth-proxy name tel-proxy telnet inactivity-time 60 list 105
             !
             ! Apply interface access-list 106 and auth-proxy test
             interface FastEthernet1/0
             ip address 10.66.65.47 255.255.255.0
             ip access-group 106 in
             ip auth-proxy tel-proxy

    For further information on creating IP access lists see Protecting Your
    Core: Infrastructure Protection Access Control Lists
     
    <http://www.cisco.com/en/US/tech/tk648/tk361/technologies_white_paper09186a00801a1a55.shtml> Protecting Your Core: Infrastructure Protection Access Control Lists

    and

    Transit Access Control Lists: Filtering at Your Edge
     <http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/707/tacl.html>
    http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/707/tacl.html

    Control Plane Policing
    The Control Plane Policy (CoPP) feature can be used to mitigate the
    effects of this vulnerability by only allowing trusted hosts to attempt
    connections through the auth-proxy router.

    Care must be taken to ensure that legitimate management connections to the
    auth-proxy router itself are not dropped by the CoPP policy.

    In the following example trusted management host 169.160.160.1 is allowed
    to establish Telnet connections to the auth-proxy router itself. Trusted
    network 169.160.160.0/24 is allowed to attempt FTP and Telnet auth-proxy
    connections to IP networks and addresses other than the auth-proxy router
    itself. All other inbound FTP and Telnet connections attempts are denied.

    The auth-proxy router's IP addresses are 172.16.1.1 (Internet Side),
    1.1.1.1/24 and 10.66.65.47 (Internal). Telnet/FTP server is 172.168.1.1.

             ! Do not police Telnet from trusted management host 169.160.160.1
    to the auth-proxy
             ! router

             access-list 105 remark ** Do not police telnet from Trusted Hosts
    to Auth-Proxy Router **
             access-list 105 deny tcp host 169.160.160.1 host 172.16.1.1 eq
    telnet
             access-list 105 deny tcp host 172.168.1.1 host 1.1.1.1 eq telnet
             access-list 105 deny tcp host 172.168.1.1 host 10.66.65.47 eq
    telnet
             !
             ! Police all other telnet and ftp connections to the auth-proxy
    router
             access-list 105 remark ** Police all other telnet/ftp attempts to
    Auth-Proxy Router **
             access-list 105 permit tcp any host 172.16.1.1 eq telnet
             access-list 105 permit tcp any host 1.1.1.1 eq telnet
             access-list 105 permit tcp any host 10.66.65.47 eq telnet
             access-list 105 permit tcp any host 172.16.1.1 eq ftp
             access-list 105 permit tcp any host 1.1.1.1 eq ftp
             access-list 105 permit tcp any host 10.66.65.47 eq ftp
             !
             ! Allow telnet and ftp auth-proxy for trusted network
    169.160.160.0/24
             access-list 105 remark ** Allow Auth-Proxy sessions from trusted
    networks **
             access-list 105 deny tcp 169.160.160.0 0.0.0.255 any eq telnet
             access-list 105 deny tcp 169.160.160.0 0.0.0.255 any eq ftp
             !
             ! Allow telnet and ftp auth-proxy for trusted network back to
    169.160.160.0/24
             access-list 105 remark ** Allow Auth-Proxy sessions to trusted
    networks **
             access-list 105 deny tcp host 172.168.1.1 169.160.160.0 0.0.0.255
             !
             ! Allow TACACS+ from ACS server 10.66.79.229
             access-list 105 remark ** Ensure we can still communicate with
    TACACS+ Server **
             access-list 105 deny tcp host 10.66.79.229 gt 1023 host
    10.66.65.47 eq 49
             access-list 105 deny tcp host 10.66.79.229 eq 49 host 10.66.65.47
    gt 1023
             !
             ! Police all TCP based management traffic from un-trusted hosts
             ! Note: If BGP is configured it would need to be allowed before
    this access-list entry
             access-list 105 remark ** Drop any other TCP connections **
             access-list 105 permit tcp any any
             !
             ! Do not police any other type of traffic going to the router
             access-list 105 remark ** Rest do not police **
             access-list 105 deny ip any any
             !
             class-map match-all only-allow-trusted-hosts
             match access-group 105
             !
             policy-map control-plane-policy
             ! Drop all traffic that matches the class
    "only-allow-trusted-hosts"
              class only-allow-trusted-hosts
               drop
             !
             control-plane
              service-policy input control-plane-policy

    Note: CoPP is available only in IOS release trains 12.0S, 12.2S and 12.3T.
    Additional information on the configuration and use of the CoPP feature
    can be found at the following URL:
     
    <http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/sw/iosswrel/ps1838/products_white_paper09186a00801afad4.shtml> Control Plane Policing

    Transit Access Control Lists
    Additional mitigation can be added by Transit Access Control Lists that
    filter transit and edge traffic at network ingress points should be
    configured so that IP traffic is only allowed from legitimate, trusted IP
    addresses. For more information on tACLs, refer to:
    <http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/707/tacl.html>
    http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/707/tacl.html

    ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

    The information has been provided by <mailto:psirt@cisco.com> Cisco
    Systems Product Security Incident Response Team.
    The original article can be found at:
    <http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/707/cisco-sa-20050907-auth_proxy.shtml>
    http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/707/cisco-sa-20050907-auth_proxy.shtml

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