MadWifi xrates denial of service

madwifi-xrates-dos (37182) The risk level is classified as LowLow Risk

Description:

MadWifi is vulnerable to a denial of service, caused by an error in the handling of beacon frames. By sending a specially-crafted beacon frame containing an overly large length value in the xrates, a remote attacker could cause the driver to exit resulting in a kernel panic.

Platforms Affected:

  • Gentoo, Linux
  • Madwifi Driver, Madwifi Driver 0.9.3.2 and prior
  • MandrakeSoft, Mandrake Linux 2007 X86_64
  • MandrakeSoft, Mandrake Linux 2007
  • MandrakeSoft, Mandrake Linux 2007.1 X86_64
  • MandrakeSoft, Mandrake Linux 2007.1
  • MandrakeSoft, Mandrake Linux 2008.0
  • MandrakeSoft, Mandrake Linux 2008.0 X86_64

Remedy:

Upgrade to the fixed version of MadWifi, available from the MadWifi.org SVN Repository. See References.

For other distributions:
Apply the appropriate update for your system. See References.

Consequences:

Denial of Service

References:

  • MadWifi Web site, MadWifi at http://madwifi.org/.
  • MadWifi.org SVN Repository, MadWifi at http://madwifi.org/changeset/2736.
  • SEC-CONSULT Security Advisory 20071012-0, Madwifi xrates element remote DOS at http://www.sec-consult.com/298.html.
  • BID-26052: MadWifi Xrates Element Remote Denial of Service Vulnerability
  • CVE-2007-5448: Madwifi 0.9.3.2 and earlier allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (panic) via a beacon frame with a large length value in the extended supported rates (xrates) element, which triggers an assertion error, related to net80211/ieee80211_scan_ap.c and net80211/ieee80211_scan_sta.c.
  • GLSA-200711-09: MadWifi: Denial of Service
  • MDVSA-2008:007: Updated madwifi-source, wpa_supplicant packages fix vulnerabilities
  • SA27197: MadWifi "xrates" Element Denial of Service
  • VUPEN/ADV-2007-3493: MadWifi Extended Supported Rates Element Denial of Service Vulnerability

Reported:

Oct 11, 2007

The information within this database may change without notice. Use of this information constitutes acceptance for use in an AS IS condition. There are NO warranties, implied or otherwise, with regard to this information or its use. Any use of this information is at the user's risk. In no event shall the author/distributor (IBM Internet Security Systems X-Force) be held liable for any damages whatsoever arising out of or in connection with the use or spread of this information.

For corrections or additions please email xforce@iss.net

Return to the main page