CVE-2018-5254 : Exploit Details and Defense Strategies

A denial-of-service vulnerability in Arista EOS versions prior to 4.20.2F allows remote BGP peers to trigger a Rib agent restart by sending a malformed path attribute in an UPDATE message.

Understanding CVE-2018-5254

This CVE involves a vulnerability in Arista EOS that can be exploited by remote BGP peers to disrupt service.

What is CVE-2018-5254?

CVE-2018-5254 is a vulnerability in Arista EOS versions before 4.20.2F that enables a denial-of-service attack through the manipulation of BGP UPDATE messages.

The Impact of CVE-2018-5254

The vulnerability allows remote attackers to cause a restart of the Rib agent, leading to a denial of service for the affected system.

Technical Details of CVE-2018-5254

This section provides more technical insights into the vulnerability.

Vulnerability Description

Arista EOS versions prior to 4.20.2F are susceptible to a denial-of-service attack initiated by remote BGP peers through the transmission of malformed path attributes in UPDATE messages.

Affected Systems and Versions

Product: Arista EOS
Vendor: Arista
Vulnerable Versions: All versions before 4.20.2F

Exploitation Mechanism

The vulnerability is exploited by sending an UPDATE message with a malformed path attribute, triggering the Rib agent to restart.

Mitigation and Prevention

Protecting systems from CVE-2018-5254 requires immediate actions and long-term security measures.

Immediate Steps to Take

Update Arista EOS to version 4.20.2F or later to mitigate the vulnerability.
Implement network segmentation to limit exposure to potentially malicious BGP peers.

Long-Term Security Practices

Regularly monitor and analyze BGP traffic for any anomalies.
Stay informed about security advisories and updates from Arista.

Patching and Updates

Ensure timely installation of security patches and updates provided by Arista to address CVE-2018-5254.