CVE-2018-25193
📋 TL;DR
Mongoose Web Server 6.9 contains a denial of service vulnerability where remote attackers can crash the service by establishing multiple socket connections and sending malformed data. This exhausts server resources, causing service unavailability. Anyone running Mongoose Web Server 6.9 is affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- Mongoose Web Server
⚠️ Manual Verification Required
This CVE does not have specific version information in our database, so automatic vulnerability detection cannot determine if your system is affected.
Why? The CVE database entry doesn't specify which versions are vulnerable (no version ranges provided by the vendor/NVD).
🔒 Custom verification scripts are available for registered users. Sign up free to download automated test scripts.
- Review the CVE details at NVD
- Check vendor security advisories for your specific version
- Test if the vulnerability is exploitable in your environment
- Consider updating to the latest version as a precaution
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete service outage making the web server unavailable to legitimate users, potentially disrupting dependent applications.
Likely Case
Service degradation or temporary unavailability requiring manual restart of the Mongoose service.
If Mitigated
Minimal impact with proper network controls and monitoring in place to detect and block malicious connection attempts.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploit code is publicly available and requires minimal technical skill to execute.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Version 6.10 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/cesanta/mongoose/releases
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Download Mongoose Web Server version 6.10 or later from the official repository. 2. Stop the current Mongoose service. 3. Replace the binary with the patched version. 4. Restart the service.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Rate Limiting
linuxImplement connection rate limiting to prevent multiple rapid connections from a single source.
# Use iptables for Linux: iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 8080 -m state --state NEW -m recent --set
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 8080 -m state --state NEW -m recent --update --seconds 60 --hitcount 20 -j DROP
Network Segmentation
linuxRestrict access to Mongoose server port to trusted IP addresses only.
# Example iptables rule: iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 8080 -s 192.168.1.0/24 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 8080 -j DROP
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement network-based intrusion prevention systems (IPS) to detect and block DoS patterns.
- Deploy behind a reverse proxy or load balancer with DoS protection capabilities.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check the Mongoose version: if it's exactly 6.9, it's vulnerable. Run the service and attempt to establish multiple connections to test for crashes.Check Version:
./mongoose --version or check the binary properties on WindowsVerify Fix Applied:
After patching, verify the version is 6.10 or later and test by attempting to establish multiple connections to ensure the service remains stable.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusually high number of connection attempts from single IP addresses
- Service crash/restart logs
- Error messages related to socket exhaustion
Network Indicators:
- Spike in incoming connections to default port (typically 8080)
- Multiple SYN packets from same source
SIEM Query:
source="mongoose.log" AND ("connection" OR "socket") AND count > 1000 by src_ip