CVE-2019-10056 Explained : Impact and Mitigation

A vulnerability has been found in Suricata 4.1.3 that affects the handling of network packets, leading to a program crash due to incorrect packet length determination.

Understanding CVE-2019-10056

This CVE entry describes a specific issue in Suricata 4.1.3 related to packet processing.

What is CVE-2019-10056?

The vulnerability in Suricata 4.1.3 involves the mishandling of network packets, causing the program to crash due to incorrect packet length determination during processing.

The Impact of CVE-2019-10056

The vulnerability can be exploited to crash the Suricata program, potentially leading to denial of service or other security risks.

Technical Details of CVE-2019-10056

This section provides detailed technical information about the vulnerability.

Vulnerability Description

In Suricata 4.1.3, the function DecodeEthernet in decode-ethernet.c is executed twice, leading to incorrect packet length determination. Specifically, when a packet length is exactly 28, the algorithm deducts 14 bytes during the first iteration, resulting in a packet length of 14. This causes the program to crash due to an error in handling packets without a type.

Affected Systems and Versions

Affected Version: Suricata 4.1.3
Systems: All systems running Suricata 4.1.3

Exploitation Mechanism

The vulnerability can be exploited by sending a network packet with the correct type, triggering the DecodeEthernet function to be executed a second time, leading to the crash.

Mitigation and Prevention

To address CVE-2019-10056, follow these mitigation and prevention steps:

Immediate Steps to Take

Update Suricata to version 4.1.4 or later to patch the vulnerability.
Monitor network traffic for any signs of exploitation.

Long-Term Security Practices

Regularly update Suricata and other security software to prevent known vulnerabilities.
Implement network intrusion detection and prevention systems to enhance security.

Patching and Updates

Apply patches and updates provided by Suricata to address the vulnerability and enhance system security.