Cisco flaws send admins scrambling

The company released advisories on several vulnerabilities in its IOS software overnight, following internal testing it had been conducting. IOS, not to be confused with Apple's iOS, is the operating system that runs on the majority of Cisco's routers and network switches. Cisco has released software updates to fix the issues, however there are only limited options for those who don't want to use the patch on the spur of the moment. During Cisco often provides temporary workarounds that can be used during administrators make preparations to update their software, in such a case there are no workarounds for the newly released vulnerabilities, or the workarounds significantly impact services to the point that they aren't practical.

The majority of the vulnerabilities are the result of how Cisco's IOS software processes specially crafted packets or messages including Session Initiation Protocol messages used in voice over IP services and IPv6 packets. These holes could enable malicious users to cause devices that process SIP messages to reboot or become unstable. By continually exploiting this behaviour, they could deny services to legitimate users.

For those who don't want to install the patch, Cisco suggests the disabling of SIP processing completely — an option that isn't viable for those providing VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) services.

The Cisco IOS software's Intrusion Prevention System

The Cisco IOS software's Intrusion Prevention System was as well found to be vulnerable to attack. IPS is a packet inspection feature built into IOS in other words designed to mitigate a range of network attacks. Nevertheless, when processing specially crafted HTTP packets, devices could hang or crash and there is no temporary workaround.

IOS has been plagued by vulnerabilities in the past, including ones that have allowed users to skip paying their internet access charges.

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