CVE-2017-9214 – This vulnerability in Open vSwitch 2.7.0 allows... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2017-9214?

CVE-2017-9214 has a CVSS score of 9.8 (CRITICAL). This vulnerability in Open vSwitch 2.7.0 allows remote attackers to cause a buffer over-read via a specially crafted OFPT_QUEUE_GET_CONFIG_REPLY message. This can lead to denial of service or potential information disclosure. Systems running Open vSwitch 2.7.0 in network virtualization environments are affected.

📋 TL;DR

This vulnerability in Open vSwitch 2.7.0 allows remote attackers to cause a buffer over-read via a specially crafted OFPT_QUEUE_GET_CONFIG_REPLY message. This can lead to denial of service or potential information disclosure. Systems running Open vSwitch 2.7.0 in network virtualization environments are affected.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Open vSwitch

Versions: 2.7.0 only

Operating Systems: Linux distributions running Open vSwitch

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Only affects Open vSwitch 2.7.0; earlier and later versions are not vulnerable. Requires OpenFlow protocol access to exploit.

📦 What is this software?

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Remote code execution leading to complete system compromise, though this is less likely given the buffer over-read nature

🟠

Likely Case

Denial of service through Open vSwitch crash, potentially disrupting network virtualization

🟢

If Mitigated

Limited impact if proper network segmentation and access controls prevent external attackers from reaching Open vSwitch management interfaces

🌐 Internet-Facing: MEDIUM - Only if Open vSwitch management interfaces are exposed to the internet, which is not typical

🏢 Internal Only: HIGH - Internal attackers or compromised systems could exploit this to disrupt network virtualization infrastructure

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: UNKNOWN

Unauthenticated Exploit: ⚠️ Yes

Complexity: MEDIUM

Exploitation requires sending specially crafted OpenFlow messages to the vulnerable component

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Open vSwitch 2.7.1 and later

Vendor Advisory: https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:2418

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Update Open vSwitch to version 2.7.1 or later. 2. For Red Hat systems, apply the relevant RHSA patches. 3. Restart Open vSwitch services after patching.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Network Access Control

linux

Restrict OpenFlow protocol access to trusted sources only

iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 6633 -s trusted_ip -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 6633 -j DROP

Disable OpenFlow Controller

linux

If not using OpenFlow controller functionality, disable it

ovs-vsctl set-controller br0 none

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Implement strict network segmentation to isolate Open vSwitch management interfaces
Deploy intrusion detection systems to monitor for anomalous OpenFlow traffic patterns

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check Open vSwitch version: ovs-vsctl --version | grep -i 'ovs-vsctl'

Check Version:

ovs-vsctl --version

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify version is 2.7.1 or later: ovs-vsctl --version

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Open vSwitch crash logs
Kernel panic messages related to Open vSwitch
Abnormal OpenFlow message patterns in logs

Network Indicators:

Unusual OpenFlow traffic to port 6633
Malformed OpenFlow packets

SIEM Query:

source="ovs-vswitchd.log" AND ("segmentation fault" OR "buffer over-read" OR "panic")

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2017-9214

CVSS v3 Score: 9.8 (CRITICAL)

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CWE: CWE-191

Published: May 23, 2017

Last Updated: April 20, 2025

🔗 References

https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:2418 Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:2553 Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:2648 Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:2665 Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:2692 Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:2698 Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:2727 Third Party Advisory
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2021/02/msg00032.html Mailing List,Third Party Advisory
https://mail.openvswitch.org/pipermail/ovs-dev/2017-May/332711.html Mailing List,Patch,Vendor Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:2418 Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:2553 Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:2648 Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:2665 Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:2692 Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:2698 Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:2727 Third Party Advisory
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2021/02/msg00032.html Mailing List,Third Party Advisory
https://mail.openvswitch.org/pipermail/ovs-dev/2017-May/332711.html Mailing List,Patch,Vendor Advisory

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🔗 Related Vulnerabilities

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📋 TL;DR

💻 Affected Systems

📦 What is this software?

Debian Linux by Debian

Openstack by Redhat

Openstack by Redhat

Openstack by Redhat

Openstack by Redhat

Openstack by Redhat

Openstack by Redhat

Openvswitch by Openvswitch

Virtualization by Redhat

Virtualization by Redhat

Virtualization Manager by Redhat

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

Worst Case

Likely Case

If Mitigated

🎯 Exploit Status

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Instructions:

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Network Access Control

Disable OpenFlow Controller

🧯 If You Can't Patch

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check Version:

Verify Fix Applied:

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Network Indicators:

SIEM Query:

📊 Metadata

🔗 References

📤 Share & Export

🔗 Related Vulnerabilities