CVE-2023-24511 Explained : Impact and Mitigation

This CVE-2023-24511 article provides insights into a vulnerability present in Arista EOS software that could lead to a memory leak in the snmpd process.

Understanding CVE-2023-24511

This section delves into the nature of CVE-2023-24511, its impact, technical details, affected systems, and mitigation techniques.

What is CVE-2023-24511?

CVE-2023-24511 affects platforms running Arista EOS with SNMP configured, allowing a specially crafted packet to induce a memory leak in the snmpd process. While this could lead to snmpd process termination, it does not impact system confidentiality or integrity.

The Impact of CVE-2023-24511

The vulnerability in CVE-2023-24511 could potentially exhaust memory resources on the switch and cause the snmpd process to be terminated, resulting in SNMP requests timing out until the process is automatically restarted.

Technical Details of CVE-2023-24511

This section provides deeper insights into the vulnerability, including its description, affected systems, and the exploitation mechanism.

Vulnerability Description

The vulnerability in CVE-2023-24511 arises from improper memory release in the snmpd process after receiving specific packets, leading to a memory leak.

Affected Systems and Versions

Arista EOS versions 4.24.0 to 4.29.1F are impacted by CVE-2023-24511, potentially exposing systems running these versions to the memory leak vulnerability.

Exploitation Mechanism

By sending a specially crafted packet to a system running Arista EOS with SNMP configured, attackers can trigger a memory leak in the snmpd process, potentially disrupting SNMP requests and other processes on the switch.

Mitigation and Prevention

This section discusses the steps necessary to mitigate the risks associated with CVE-2023-24511, including immediate actions and long-term security practices.

Immediate Steps to Take

If suspicious activity related to CVE-2023-24511 is detected, enabling SNMP service ACLs to restrict queries from specific IP addresses can help mitigate the vulnerability.

Long-Term Security Practices

To enhance overall system security, regularly updating to the latest remediated software versions provided by Arista is recommended to address vulnerabilities like CVE-2023-24511.

Patching and Updates

Arista suggests upgrading to fixed software versions such as 4.29.2F, 4.28.6M, 4.27.9M, or 4.26.10M, or applying the specific hotfix for affected versions to remediate CVE-2023-24511 and prevent memory leaks in the snmpd process.