Cisco IOS XR 64-Bit Software for Cisco ASR 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers Network Isolation Vulnerability

Vulnerability

The sysadmin virtual machine (VM) on Cisco ASR 9000 Series Aggregation Services Routers running Cisco IOS XR 64-bit Software fails to properly isolate the secondary management interface from internal sysadmin applications. This vulnerability is due to incorrect network isolation, allowing the management interface to access internal services. Affected versions include all releases prior to 6.5.3 and 7.0.1 [1].

Exploitation

An unauthenticated, remote attacker can exploit this vulnerability by connecting to the secondary management interface and then accessing one of the listening internal applications on the sysadmin VM. No authentication or user interaction is required; the attacker only needs network access to the management interface [1].

Impact

Successful exploitation results in unstable conditions, including both a denial of service (DoS) and remote unauthenticated access to the device. The attacker gains the ability to access internal applications without authentication, potentially leading to further compromise [1].

Mitigation

Cisco has fixed this vulnerability in IOS XR 64-bit Software Release 6.5.3 and 7.0.1. The fix modifies the calvados_boostrap.cfg file and requires a device reload. No workarounds are available. Customers should upgrade to a fixed release [1].