CVE-2020-12141 Explained : Impact and Mitigation

Contiki-NG 4.4 and earlier versions are affected by an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in the SNMP stack, potentially leading to denial of service and information disclosure.

Understanding CVE-2020-12141

This CVE describes a security issue in Contiki-NG versions 4.4 and earlier related to SNMP stack manipulation.

What is CVE-2020-12141?

An out-of-bounds read vulnerability in the SNMP stack in Contiki-NG 4.4 and earlier versions allows attackers to exploit crafted SNMP packets to trigger denial of service and potentially disclose sensitive information.

The Impact of CVE-2020-12141

The vulnerability can be exploited by attackers to cause a denial of service condition and potentially leak information by sending specially crafted SNMP packets.

Technical Details of CVE-2020-12141

This section provides more technical insights into the vulnerability.

Vulnerability Description

The issue resides in the SNMP stack of Contiki-NG 4.4 and earlier, specifically in the snmp_ber_decode_string_len_buffer function in os/net/app-layer/snmp/snmp-ber.c, allowing out-of-bounds reads.

Affected Systems and Versions

Affected System: Contiki-NG 4.4 and earlier
Affected Versions: All versions prior to 4.4

Exploitation Mechanism

Attackers can exploit this vulnerability by sending maliciously crafted SNMP packets to the vulnerable snmp_ber_decode_string_len_buffer function, triggering the out-of-bounds read.

Mitigation and Prevention

Protecting systems from CVE-2020-12141 requires immediate actions and long-term security practices.

Immediate Steps to Take

Apply patches or updates provided by Contiki-NG to address the vulnerability.
Monitor network traffic for any signs of exploitation.
Restrict SNMP access to trusted entities only.

Long-Term Security Practices

Regularly update and patch software to prevent known vulnerabilities.
Conduct security assessments and audits to identify and mitigate potential risks.
Educate users and administrators on secure SNMP configuration and usage.

Patching and Updates

Ensure that the Contiki-NG software is updated to a version that includes a fix for the SNMP stack vulnerability.