A vulnerability in a feature that monitors RADIUS requests on Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to negatively affect the performance of an affected device. This vulnerability is due to insufficient management of system resources. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by taking actions that cause Cisco ISE Software to receive specific RADIUS traffic. A successful and sustained exploit of this vulnerability could allow the attacker to cause reduced performance of the affected device, resulting in significant delays to RADIUS authentications. Cisco has released software updates that address this vulnerability. There are workarounds that address this vulnerability. This advisory is available at the following link:https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-ise-sec-atk-dos-zw5RCUYp
A vulnerability in a feature that monitors RADIUS requests on Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to negatively affect the performance of an affected device.
This vulnerability is due to insufficient management of system resources. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by taking actions that cause Cisco ISE Software to receive specific RADIUS traffic. A successful and sustained exploit of this vulnerability could allow the attacker to cause reduced performance of the affected device, resulting in significant delays to RADIUS authentications.
Cisco has released software updates that address this vulnerability. There are workarounds that address this vulnerability.
This advisory is available at the following link:
https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-ise-sec-atk-dos-zw5RCUYp
At the time of publication, this vulnerability affected Cisco ISE Software if the software was configured to detect a steady, high rate of RADIUS requests. This configuration is disabled by default.
For information about which Cisco software releases were vulnerable at the time of publication, see the Fixed Software section of this advisory. See the Details section in the bug ID(s) at the top of this advisory for the most complete and current information.
To determine if a device is vulnerable, log in to the web management GUI with super admin privileges. Choose Administration > System > Settings > Protocols > RADIUS. If Detect High Rate of RADIUS Requests is checked, the device is vulnerable.
Only products listed in the Vulnerable Products section of this advisory are known to be affected by this vulnerability.
As a workaround, customers who do not require the detection of a steady, high rate of RADIUS requests for their daily operations may disable the detection to prevent the exploitation of this vulnerability. To disable this feature, log in to the web management GUI with super admin privileges. Choose Administration > System > Settings > Protocols > RADIUS and uncheck Detect High Rate of RADIUS Requests.
While this workaround has been deployed and was proven successful in a test environment, customers should determine the applicability and effectiveness in their own environment and under their own use conditions. Customers should be aware that any workaround or mitigation that is implemented may negatively impact the functionality or performance of their network based on intrinsic customer deployment scenarios and limitations. Customers should not deploy any workarounds or mitigations before first evaluating the applicability to their own environment and any impact to such environment.
When considering software upgrades, customers are advised to regularly consult the advisories for Cisco products, which are available from the Cisco Security Advisories page, to determine exposure and a complete upgrade solution.
In all cases, customers should ensure that the devices to be upgraded contain sufficient memory and confirm that current hardware and software configurations will continue to be supported properly by the new release. If the information is not clear, customers are advised to contact the Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC) or their contracted maintenance providers.
At the time of publication, the release information in the following table(s) was accurate. See the Details section in the bug ID(s) at the top of this advisory for the most complete and current information.
The left column lists Cisco software releases, and the right column indicates whether a release was affected by the vulnerability described in this advisory and which release included the fix for this vulnerability.
| Cisco ISE Software Release | First Fixed Release |
|---|---|
| 2.61 and earlier | Migrate to a fixed release. |
| 2.7 | 2.7 patch 8 |
| 3.0 | 3.0 patch 6 |
| 3.1 | 3.1 patch 4 |
| 3.2 | Not vulnerable. |
For instructions on upgrading, see the Upgrade Guides on the Cisco Identity Service Engine support page.
The Cisco Product Security Incident Response Team (PSIRT) validates only the affected and fixed release information that is documented in this advisory.
The Cisco PSIRT is not aware of any public announcements or malicious use of the vulnerability that is described in this advisory.
This vulnerability was found during the resolution of a Cisco TAC support case.
To learn about Cisco security vulnerability disclosure policies and publications, see the Security Vulnerability Policy. This document also contains instructions for obtaining fixed software and receiving security vulnerability information from Cisco.
| Version | Description | Section | Status | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | Initial public release. | - | Final | 2022-NOV-02 |
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