CVE-2017-6627

What is this vulnerability?

CVE-2017-6627 is categorized as a high CWE-399 flaw with a CVSS base score of 7.5. Based on our vulnerability intelligence, this issue occurs when the application fails to securely handle untrusted data boundaries.

A vulnerability in the UDP processing code of Cisco IOS 15.1, 15.2, and 15.4 and IOS XE 3.14 through 3.18 could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause the input queue of an affected system to hold UDP packets, causing an interface queue wedge and a denial of service (DoS) condition. The vulnerability is due to Cisco IOS Software application changes that create UDP sockets and leave the sockets idle without closing them. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending UDP packets with a destination port of 0 to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause UDP packets to be held in the input interfaces queue, resulting in a DoS condition. The input interface queue will stop holding UDP packets when it receives 250 packets. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCup10024, CSCva55744, CSCva95506.

This architectural defect enables adversaries to bypass intended security controls, directly manipulating the application's execution state or data layer. Immediate strategic intervention is required.

Risk Assessment

Impact on Systems

✅ Data Exfiltration: Attackers can extract sensitive data from backend databases, configuration files, or internal services.

✅ Authentication Bypass: Exploiting this flaw may allow unauthorized access to protected resources and administrative interfaces.

✅ Lateral Movement: Once initial access is gained, attackers can pivot to internal systems and escalate privileges.

How to Fix and Mitigate CVE-2017-6627

1. Apply Vendor Patches Immediately: This vulnerability is listed in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Apply updates per vendor instructions.
2. Verify Patch Deployment: Confirm all instances are updated using Precogs continuous monitoring.
3. Review Audit Logs: Investigate historical access logs for indicators of compromise related to this attack surface.
4. Implement Defense-in-Depth: Deploy WAF rules, network segmentation, and endpoint detection to limit blast radius.

Defending with Precogs AI

A flaw in UDP processing allows oversized packets to bypass fragment reassembly checks. Attackers send fragmented UDP floods to trigger memory corruption and paralyze network interfaces. Precogs Binary Analysis detects unsafe packet reassembly operations.

Use Precogs to continuously scan your codebase, binaries, APIs, and infrastructure for this vulnerability class and related attack patterns. Our AI-powered detection engine combines static analysis with threat intelligence to identify exploitable weaknesses before attackers do.

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Vulnerability Code Signature

Attack Data Flow

Vulnerable Code Pattern

# ❌ VULNERABLE: Unsanitized Input Flow
def process_request(request):
    user_input = request.GET.get('data')
    # Taint sink: processing untrusted data
    execute_logic(user_input)
    return {"status": "success"}

Secure Code Pattern

# ✅ SECURE: Input Validation & Sanitization
def process_request(request):
    user_input = request.GET.get('data')
    
    # Sanitized boundary check
    if not is_valid_format(user_input):
        raise ValueError("Invalid input format")
        
    sanitized_data = sanitize(user_input)
    execute_logic(sanitized_data)
    return {"status": "success"}

How Precogs Detects This

Precogs AI Analysis Engine maps untrusted input directly to execution sinks to catch complex application security vulnerabilities.\n