Intel Express Switch series 500 DoS #2



Advisory Code:   VIGILANTE-2000010



Release Date:

September 6, 2000



Systems Affected:

Intel Express Switch 510T

- Firmware version 2.63

- Firmware version 2.64

Intel Express Switch 520T

- Firmware version 2.63

- Firmware version 2.64

Intel Express Switch 550T

- Firmware version 2.63

- Firmware version 2.64

Intel Express Switch 550F

- Firmware version 2.63

- Firmware version 2.64

It is likely that older firmware versions are also affected.



THE PROBLEM

By sending a malformed ICMP packet, either to the Intel Express

Switch or a host behind it, the CPU crashes. The switch looses

all routing functionality but continues to function as a switch,

except for the fact that learning also crashes, so new connections

are not "picked up". The packet can be sent from a machine

directly connected to the switch or from a machine not directly

connected to the switch. Since the packet does not require a reply,

the packet can also be spoofed.



A Side Note:

During testing we also found the SNMP command that reboots the

switch, and just as a friendly reminder, please do remember to change

your switch's SNMP community name from the default to something a bit

harder to guess, since the reboot command can also be spoofed.



Vendor Status:

Intel was contacted on the 3rd of September and the vulnerability was

verified by them the following day. The fix was officially released

on the 5th of September.



Fix:

The fix for the Intel Express Switches 510T, 520T, 550T and 550F

is the same, and it can be found at this location:

http://support.intel.com/support/express/switches/500/es5_266.htm





Vendor   URL: http://www.intel.com

Product  URL:

http://www.intel.com/network/products/express_switches.htm?iid={500_switch}

Copyright VIGILANTe 2000-09-03



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