Cisco IOS and Cisco IOS XE Software UDP Packet Processing Denial of Service Vulnerability

A vulnerability in the UDP processing code of Cisco IOS and Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause the input queue of an affected system to hold UDP packets, causing an interface queue wedge and a denial of service (DoS) condition.

The vulnerability is due to Cisco IOS Software application changes that create UDP sockets and leave the sockets idle without closing them. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending UDP packets with a destination port of 0 to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause UDP packets to be held in the input interfaces queue, resulting in a DoS condition. The input interface queue will stop holding UDP packets when it receives 250 packets.

There are workarounds that address this vulnerability.

This advisory is available at the following link:
https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20170906-ios-udp [“https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20170906-ios-udp”]