Cisco IOS XR Software Layer 2 Services Denial of Service Vulnerability

A vulnerability in the Layer 2 Ethernet services of Cisco IOS XR Software could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to cause the line card network processor to reset, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition.

This vulnerability is due to the incorrect handling of specific Ethernet frames that are received on line cards that have the Layer 2 services feature enabled. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending specific Ethernet frames through an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the ingress interface network processor to reset, resulting in a loss of traffic over the interfaces that are supported by the network processor. Multiple resets of the network processor would cause the line card to reset, resulting in a DoS condition.

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-xrl2vpn-jesrU3fc [“https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-xrl2vpn-jesrU3fc”]

This advisory is part of the March 2024 release of the Cisco IOS XR Software Security Advisory Bundled Publication. For a complete list of the advisories and links to them, see Cisco Event Response: March 2024 Semiannual Cisco IOS XR Software Security Advisory Bundled Publication [“https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/viewErp.x?alertId=ERP-75299”].