CVE-2021-1596 Explained : Impact and Mitigation

Cisco Video Surveillance 7000 Series IP Cameras are affected by multiple vulnerabilities in the Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP) implementation. These vulnerabilities could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to cause a memory leak, leading to a denial of service (DoS) condition on the affected device. This article provides insights into the impact, technical details, and mitigation strategies related to CVE-2021-1596.

Understanding CVE-2021-1596

This section delves into the nature of the vulnerability and its potential implications.

What is CVE-2021-1596?

The vulnerability in the Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP) implementation for Cisco Video Surveillance 7000 Series IP Cameras enables an attacker in the same broadcast domain to trigger a memory leak, resulting in a DoS attack by sending crafted LLDP packets.

The Impact of CVE-2021-1596

The impact of this vulnerability is categorized by a CVSS base score of 6.5, indicating a medium severity level with a high availability impact and low confidentiality and integrity impact. The exploitation of this vulnerability can lead to a device crash and reload, causing a DoS scenario.

Technical Details of CVE-2021-1596

In this section, we explore the specifics of the vulnerability in terms of description, affected systems, versions, and exploitation mechanism.

Vulnerability Description

The vulnerability stems from incorrect processing of certain LLDP packets at ingress time, allowing an attacker to exploit this flaw by sending malicious LLDP packets.

Affected Systems and Versions

The affected product is the Cisco Video Surveillance 7000 Series IP Cameras, with all versions being vulnerable to this particular exploit.

Exploitation Mechanism

To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must be in the same broadcast domain as the affected device (Layer 2 adjacent) to send the crafted LLDP packets.

Mitigation and Prevention

This section outlines the steps to mitigate the risks associated with CVE-2021-1596.

Immediate Steps to Take

Immediate actions include applying security patches, monitoring network traffic for any suspicious activities, and isolating the affected devices from the network.

Long-Term Security Practices

Implementing network segmentation, regular security audits, and providing security awareness training to mitigate similar risks in the future.

Patching and Updates

Regularly check for security advisories and updates from Cisco, ensuring that the affected devices are patched with the latest firmware to address the vulnerability.