A vulnerability in the implementation of Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) Ethernet VPN (EVPN) functionality in Cisco IOS XR Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition. The vulnerability is due to incorrect processing of a BGP update message that contains crafted EVPN attributes. An attacker could indirectly exploit the vulnerability by sending BGP EVPN update messages with a specific, malformed attribute to an affected system and waiting for a user on the device to display the EVPN operational routes’ status. If successful, the attacker could cause the BGP process to restart unexpectedly, resulting in a DoS condition. The Cisco implementation of BGP accepts incoming BGP traffic only from explicitly defined peers. To exploit this vulnerability, the malicious BGP update message would need to come from a configured, valid BGP peer, or would need to be injected by the attacker into the victim's BGP network on an existing, valid TCP connection to a BGP peer. Cisco has released software updates that address this vulnerability. There are no workarounds that address this vulnerability. This advisory is available at the following link: https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20200122-ios-xr-routes
A vulnerability in the implementation of Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) Ethernet VPN (EVPN) functionality in Cisco IOS XR Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition.
The vulnerability is due to incorrect processing of a BGP update message that contains crafted EVPN attributes. An attacker could indirectly exploit the vulnerability by sending BGP EVPN update messages with a specific, malformed attribute to an affected system and waiting for a user on the device to display the EVPN operational routes’ status. If successful, the attacker could cause the BGP process to restart unexpectedly, resulting in a DoS condition.
The Cisco implementation of BGP accepts incoming BGP traffic only from explicitly defined peers. To exploit this vulnerability, the malicious BGP update message would need to come from a configured, valid BGP peer, or would need to be injected by the attacker into the victim's BGP network on an existing, valid TCP connection to a BGP peer.
Cisco has released software updates that address this vulnerability. There are no workarounds that address this vulnerability.
This advisory is available at the following link:
https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20200122-ios-xr-routes
The vulnerability affects Cisco devices that are running a vulnerable release of Cisco IOS XR Software later than 6.6.1 and are configured for BGP on a device with the L2VPN EVPN address family.
Determine Whether the Device Has a Vulnerable Configuration
To determine whether the device is configured for BGP, administrators can use the show running-config router bgp EXEC command in the CLI. If the router is configured for BGP, this command will return output. The following example shows the partial output of the show running-config router bgp command on a device that is configured for BGP:
# show running-config router bgp
router bgp 65536
. . .
To determine whether the device is configured for the EVPN address family, administrators can use the show running-config router bgp AS-Number address-family l2vpn evpn EXEC command in the CLI. If the router is configured for the BGP EVPN address family, this command will return output. The following example shows the partial output of the show running-config router bgp AS-Number address-family l2vpn evpn command on a device with the EVPN address family configured:
# show running-config router bgp 65536 address-family l2vpn evpn router bgp 100
address-family l2vpn evpn
. . .
Only products listed in the Vulnerable Products section of this advisory are known to be affected by this vulnerability.
Cisco has confirmed that this vulnerability does not affect Cisco IOS Software, Cisco IOS XE Software, or Cisco NX-OS Software.
Ethernet VPN (EVPN) is a next-generation solution that provides Ethernet multipoint services over Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) networks. Customers can learn more about EVPN and configuration options in L2VPN and Ethernet Services Configuration Guide for Cisco ASR 9000 Series Routers and in guides for other platforms that support this feature.
There are no workarounds that address this vulnerability.
Cisco has released free software updates that address the vulnerability described in this advisory. Customers may only install and expect support for software versions and feature sets for which they have purchased a license. By installing, downloading, accessing, or otherwise using such software upgrades, customers agree to follow the terms of the Cisco software license:
https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/end-user-license-agreement.html
Additionally, customers may only download software for which they have a valid license, procured from Cisco directly, or through a Cisco authorized reseller or partner. In most cases this will be a maintenance upgrade to software that was previously purchased. Free security software updates do not entitle customers to a new software license, additional software feature sets, or major revision upgrades.
When considering software upgrades, customers are advised to regularly consult the advisories for Cisco products, which are available from the Cisco Security Advisories and Alerts 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.
Customers who purchase directly from Cisco but do not hold a Cisco service contract and customers who make purchases through third-party vendors but are unsuccessful in obtaining fixed software through their point of sale should obtain upgrades by contacting the Cisco TAC:
https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/web/tsd-cisco-worldwide-contacts.html
Customers should have the product serial number available and be prepared to provide the URL of this advisory as evidence of entitlement to a free upgrade.
Cisco will fix this vulnerability in Cisco IOS XR Software Releases 6.63, 7.02, and 7.1.1.
At the time of publication, the SMUs in the following table were available. Customers who require SMUs for other platforms and releases are advised to contact their support organization.
| IOS XR Release | Platform | SMU Name1 |
|---|---|---|
| 6.6.1 |
NCS5500 |
ncs5500-6.6.1.CSCvr91660 |
| 6.6.1 |
ASR9K-X64 |
asr9k-x64-6.6.1.CSCvr91660 |
| 6.6.1 |
NCS540 |
ncs540-6.6.1.CSCvr91660 |
| 6.6.1 |
NCS6K |
ncs6k-6.6.1.CSCvr91660 |
| 6.6.2 |
ASR9K |
asr9k-px-6.6.2.CSCvr91676 |
| 6.6.2 |
ASR9K-X64 | asr9k-x64-6.6.2.CSCvr91676 |
| 6.6.2 |
CRS |
|
| 6.6.2 |
NCS5K | |
| 6.6.2 |
XRV9K |
xrv9k-6.6.2.CSCvr91676 |
| 6.6.25 |
NCS540 |
|
| 6.6.25 | NCS540L | |
| 6.6.25 | NCS560 |
ncs560-6.6.25.CSCvr91676 |
| 6.6.25 |
NCS5500 |
ncs5500-6.6.25.CSCvr91676 |
| 7.0.1 |
ASR9K-X64 | asr9k-x64-7.0.1.CSCvr91676 |
| 7.0.1 | NCS1K | |
| 7.0.1 | NCS5K | |
| 7.0.1 | NCS6K |
|
| 7.0.1 | NCS540 |
|
| 7.0.1 | NCS540L |
|
| 7.0.1 | NCS560 |
|
| 7.0.1 | NCS5500 | |
| 7.0.1 | XRV9K |
1. Fixes for the vulnerability described in this advisory were provided in the fix for CSCvr91660 and CSCvr91676.
CSCvr91660 includes the fixes for CSCvr84254, CSCvr74986, CSCvr74413, CSCvr80793, CSCvr83742, CSCvr74902, CSCvo90073, and CSCvr69950.
CSCvr91676 includes the fixes for CSCvr84254, CSCvr74986, CSCvr74413, CSCvr80793, CSCvr83742, CSCvr74902, and CSCvr69950.
Customers can download the SMUs from the Software Center on Cisco.com by doing the following:
The Cisco Product Security Incident Response Team (PSIRT) is not aware of any public announcements or malicious use of the vulnerability that is described in this advisory.
This vulnerability was found by Mrinmoy Ghosh of Cisco during internal security testing.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.1 | Included BGP in advisory title to better identify affected service. | Title | Final | 2020-January-24 |
| 1.0 | Initial public release. | - | Final | 2020-January-22 |
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