CVE-2017-7653 : Security Advisory and Response

CVE-2017-7653 pertains to a vulnerability in Eclipse Mosquitto version 1.4.15, where the broker fails to reject invalid UTF-8 strings, enabling a malicious client to trigger denial of service attacks on other clients.

Understanding CVE-2017-7653

What is CVE-2017-7653?

The vulnerability in Eclipse Mosquitto version 1.4.15 allows a malicious client to exploit the broker by sending invalid UTF-8 strings, leading to denial of service for affected clients.

The Impact of CVE-2017-7653

The vulnerability can result in a denial of service for clients that connect to the affected broker due to the improper handling of invalid UTF-8 strings.

Technical Details of CVE-2017-7653

Vulnerability Description

The Eclipse Mosquitto broker up to version 1.4.15 does not properly reject invalid UTF-8 strings, enabling malicious clients to disrupt other clients' connections, causing denial of service.

Affected Systems and Versions

Product: Eclipse Mosquitto
Vendor: The Eclipse Foundation
Versions Affected: <= 1.4.15

Exploitation Mechanism

Malicious clients exploit the vulnerability by sending topic strings that are not valid UTF-8, causing affected clients to disconnect from the broker.

Mitigation and Prevention

Immediate Steps to Take

Upgrade to a patched version that addresses the UTF-8 validation issue.
Implement network-level protections to filter out potentially malicious traffic.

Long-Term Security Practices

Regularly update and patch software to mitigate known vulnerabilities.
Monitor network traffic for any suspicious activities that could indicate an ongoing attack.

Patching and Updates

Stay informed about security advisories and updates from Eclipse Mosquitto and related vendors to apply patches promptly.