CVE-2023-30546
📋 TL;DR
An off-by-one buffer overflow vulnerability in Contiki-NG's Antelope database system allows memory corruption when merging strings in storage functions. This affects IoT devices running Contiki-NG 4.8 and earlier versions. Attackers could potentially execute arbitrary code or crash devices.
💻 Affected Systems
- Contiki-NG operating system
📦 What is this software?
Contiki Ng by Contiki Ng
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Remote code execution leading to complete device compromise, data theft, or device becoming part of botnet
Likely Case
Denial of service through device crashes or memory corruption causing unpredictable behavior
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper network segmentation and access controls preventing exploitation
🎯 Exploit Status
Requires triggering specific database operations but no authentication needed
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Available in 'develop' branch, next official release
Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/contiki-ng/contiki-ng/security/advisories/GHSA-257g-w39m-5jj4
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Update to Contiki-NG 'develop' branch
2. Apply patch from pull request #2425
3. Rebuild and redeploy firmware
4. Restart affected IoT devices
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Manual patch application
allApply the fix from GitHub pull request #2425 to storage-cfs.c file
git apply https://github.com/contiki-ng/contiki-ng/pull/2425.patch
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Network segmentation: Isolate IoT devices from untrusted networks
- Disable or restrict Antelope database functionality if not required
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Contiki-NG version and verify if using Antelope with CFS backendCheck Version:
Check Contiki-NG build configuration or version headersVerify Fix Applied:
Verify storage-cfs.c file contains the buffer size fix from PR #2425📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Memory access violations
- Device crashes
- Unexpected database errors
Network Indicators:
- Unusual database query patterns to IoT devices
SIEM Query:
device_type:iot AND (event_type:crash OR memory_violation)