CVE-2020-1876
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to send specially crafted packets to affected Huawei network security devices, causing an out-of-bounds write that can reboot critical processes. It affects Huawei NIP6800, Secospace USG6600, and USG9500 devices running specific firmware versions. The attack requires no authentication and can lead to denial of service.
💻 Affected Systems
- Huawei NIP6800
- Huawei Secospace USG6600
- Huawei USG9500
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Persistent denial of service attacks could render network security devices unavailable, potentially bypassing security controls and enabling follow-on attacks.
Likely Case
Attackers cause repeated process reboots leading to service disruption, degraded network performance, and potential security monitoring gaps.
If Mitigated
With proper network segmentation and access controls, impact is limited to denial of service affecting only the targeted device.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires crafting specific malformed packets but no authentication. The vulnerability is in packet processing logic.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Update to versions beyond those listed in affected systems
Vendor Advisory: https://www.huawei.com/en/psirt/security-advisories/huawei-sa-20200219-01-outofwrite-en
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Download latest firmware from Huawei support portal. 2. Backup current configuration. 3. Apply firmware update following Huawei documentation. 4. Reboot device. 5. Verify update and restore configuration if needed.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Network Access Control
allRestrict network access to management interfaces using firewall rules or ACLs
Traffic Filtering
allImplement IPS/IDS rules to detect and block malformed packets targeting this vulnerability
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict network segmentation to isolate affected devices from untrusted networks
- Deploy additional monitoring and alerting for device reboots or process crashes
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check device firmware version via web interface or CLI command 'display version'Check Version:
display versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify firmware version is updated beyond affected versions and monitor for process stability📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unexpected process restarts
- System reboot events
- Memory access violation logs
Network Indicators:
- Unusual packet patterns to device management interfaces
- Spike in malformed packets
SIEM Query:
source="huawei-firewall" AND (event_type="process_crash" OR event_type="system_reboot")