CVE-2019-12312 : Vulnerability Insights and Analysis

Libreswan 3.27 is susceptible to a vulnerability that can lead to a restart of the pluto IKE daemon due to an assertion failure. By initiating a specific sequence of IKE exchanges, an attacker can trigger a NULL pointer dereference, potentially causing a restart of the libreswan service.

Understanding CVE-2019-12312

This CVE involves a vulnerability in Libreswan 3.27 that can be exploited to restart the pluto IKE daemon.

What is CVE-2019-12312?

In Libreswan 3.27, an attacker can exploit an assertion failure to trigger a NULL pointer dereference by initiating a specific sequence of IKE exchanges, potentially leading to a restart of the libreswan service.

The Impact of CVE-2019-12312

The vulnerability can be exploited to cause a restart of the pluto IKE daemon in Libreswan 3.27, affecting the overall availability and stability of the service.

Technical Details of CVE-2019-12312

This section provides technical details about the vulnerability.

Vulnerability Description

The vulnerability in Libreswan 3.27 allows an attacker to trigger a NULL pointer dereference by manipulating IKEv2 exchanges, leading to a restart of the libreswan service.

Affected Systems and Versions

Affected Version: Libreswan 3.27
Systems running Libreswan 3.27 are vulnerable to this exploit.

Exploitation Mechanism

Attacker initiates an IKEv2 IKE_SA_INIT exchange followed by a fake INFORMATIONAL exchange instead of the expected IKE_AUTH exchange.
Exploiting the function send_v2N_spi_response_from_state() in programs/pluto/ikev2_send.c triggers the NULL pointer dereference.

Mitigation and Prevention

Protecting systems from CVE-2019-12312 requires immediate actions and long-term security practices.

Immediate Steps to Take

Apply the provided patch for CVE-2019-12312 to mitigate the vulnerability.
Monitor network traffic for any suspicious IKEv2 exchanges.

Long-Term Security Practices

Regularly update Libreswan to the latest version to prevent known vulnerabilities.
Implement network segmentation to limit the impact of potential exploits.

Patching and Updates

Apply the official patch released by Libreswan to address the vulnerability and prevent exploitation.