CVE-2021-29630
📋 TL;DR
This is a stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability in FreeBSD's ggatec daemon that allows remote code execution. Attackers in a privileged network position can send oversized responses to overwrite the stack and potentially execute arbitrary code. Affects FreeBSD systems running vulnerable versions with ggatec enabled.
💻 Affected Systems
- FreeBSD
📦 What is this software?
Freebsd by Freebsd
Freebsd by Freebsd
Freebsd by Freebsd
Freebsd by Freebsd
Freebsd by Freebsd
Freebsd by Freebsd
Freebsd by Freebsd
Freebsd by Freebsd
Freebsd by Freebsd
Freebsd by Freebsd
Freebsd by Freebsd
Freebsd by Freebsd
Freebsd by Freebsd
Freebsd by Freebsd
Freebsd by Freebsd
Freebsd by Freebsd
Freebsd by Freebsd
Freebsd by Freebsd
Freebsd by Freebsd
Freebsd by Freebsd
Freebsd by Freebsd
Freebsd by Freebsd
Freebsd by Freebsd
Freebsd by Freebsd
Freebsd by Freebsd
Freebsd by Freebsd
Freebsd by Freebsd
Freebsd by Freebsd
Freebsd by Freebsd
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Remote attacker gains root privileges on the FreeBSD system, leading to complete system compromise, data theft, and lateral movement within the network.
Likely Case
Privilege escalation to root leading to system compromise, installation of backdoors, and persistence mechanisms.
If Mitigated
Denial of service if exploit fails or is detected by security controls.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires network access to ggatec service and knowledge of the protocol. No public exploit code available at time of advisory.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: FreeBSD 13.0-STABLE n246938-0729ba2f49c9+, 12.2-STABLE r370383+, 11.4-STABLE r370381+, 13.0-RELEASE p4+, 12.2-RELEASE p10+, 11.4-RELEASE p13+
Vendor Advisory: https://security.FreeBSD.org/advisories/FreeBSD-SA-21:14.ggatec.asc
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Update FreeBSD using 'freebsd-update fetch' and 'freebsd-update install' for RELEASE versions. 2. For STABLE versions, update source and rebuild. 3. Restart the ggatec service or reboot the system.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable ggatec service
allStop and disable the ggatec daemon if not required for system functionality.
service ggatec stop
service ggatec disable
Network isolation
allRestrict network access to ggatec service using firewall rules.
ipfw add deny tcp from any to any 3080
pfctl -t ggatec -T add 0.0.0.0/0
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Disable ggatec service immediately if not required
- Implement strict network segmentation and firewall rules to restrict access to ggatec port
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check FreeBSD version with 'uname -a' and verify if ggatec service is running with 'service ggatec status'Check Version:
uname -aVerify Fix Applied:
Verify FreeBSD version is patched and check that ggatec service is either disabled or updated📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual ggatec process crashes
- Large network packets to ggatec port
- Failed authentication attempts to ggatec
Network Indicators:
- Unusually large packets to ggatec default port (3080)
- Multiple connection attempts to ggatec from single source
SIEM Query:
source="ggatec" AND (event="crash" OR size>1024)