CVE-2020-8916 Explained : Impact and Mitigation

A memory leak in Openthread's wpantund versions up to commit 0e5d1601febb869f583e944785e5685c6c747be7 can allow an attacker to crash the service, leading to a denial of service (DoS) attack. It is crucial to update or restrict access in debug environments.

Understanding CVE-2020-8916

This CVE involves a memory leak in Openthread's wpantund, potentially enabling a DoS attack.

What is CVE-2020-8916?

CVE-2020-8916 is a vulnerability in wpantund that can be exploited to crash the service, causing a denial of service.

The Impact of CVE-2020-8916

The vulnerability poses a medium severity risk with a CVSS base score of 5. It can lead to a DoS situation, affecting the availability of the service.

Technical Details of CVE-2020-8916

This section provides technical insights into the vulnerability.

Vulnerability Description

The issue arises from a memory leak in Openthread's wpantund versions up to commit 0e5d1601febb869f583e944785e5685c6c747be7.

Affected Systems and Versions

Product: wpantund
Vendor: Google LLC
Versions affected: up to commit 0e5d1601febb869f583e944785e5685c6c747be7

Exploitation Mechanism

The vulnerability can be exploited in environments where wpanctl directly interfaces with the control driver, such as debug environments.

Mitigation and Prevention

To address CVE-2020-8916, follow these mitigation strategies:

Immediate Steps to Take

Update Openthread's wpantund to a version beyond commit 0e5d1601febb869f583e944785e5685c6c747be7.
Restrict access in debug environments to minimize the risk of exploitation.

Long-Term Security Practices

Regularly monitor and update software components to address vulnerabilities promptly.
Implement access controls and least privilege principles to limit potential attack surfaces.

Patching and Updates

Ensure timely patching of software and apply security updates to prevent exploitation of known vulnerabilities.