CVE-2023-48229
📋 TL;DR
An out-of-bounds write vulnerability in Contiki-NG's IEEE 802.15.4 radio driver allows attackers to write beyond allocated buffer boundaries when parsing malicious radio frames. This affects IoT devices running Contiki-NG on nRF platforms that use the vulnerable radio driver. Attackers within radio range can potentially exploit this to 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, persistence, and lateral movement within IoT networks.
Likely Case
Denial of service through device crashes or instability, with potential for limited code execution depending on memory layout.
If Mitigated
No impact if devices are patched or not using the vulnerable nRF radio driver.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires crafting malicious radio frames and being within radio range. No public exploit code is known.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Available in the 'develop' branch, expected in subsequent releases
Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/contiki-ng/contiki-ng/security/advisories/GHSA-rcwv-xwc9-5hp2
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Update to the latest develop branch: git pull origin develop 2. Rebuild and flash the Contiki-NG firmware 3. Restart affected IoT devices
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Manual patch application
allApply the changes from PR #2741 manually to the nrf-ieee-driver-arch.c file
Apply the diff from https://github.com/contiki-ng/contiki-ng/pull/2741 to arch/cpu/nrf/net/nrf-ieee-driver-arch.c
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement network segmentation to isolate vulnerable IoT devices from critical systems
- Deploy physical security controls to limit radio access to vulnerable devices
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check if your Contiki-NG build uses the nrf-ieee-driver-arch.c module and if the read_frame function lacks proper buffer bounds validationCheck Version:
Check Contiki-NG version and build configuration to confirm nRF radio driver usageVerify Fix Applied:
Verify the patch from PR #2741 is applied by checking the read_frame function in nrf-ieee-driver-arch.c for proper length validation📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Device crashes or restarts
- Memory corruption errors in system logs
- Unusual radio frame parsing errors
Network Indicators:
- Malformed IEEE 802.15.4 frames with unusual payload lengths
- Radio traffic from unexpected sources
SIEM Query:
Search for: device_type:"contiki-ng" AND (event_type:"crash" OR error:"memory" OR error:"buffer")