CVE-2024-45163
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability in Mirai botnet command and control servers allows unauthenticated attackers to establish persistent TCP connections, causing resource exhaustion and denial of service. Anyone operating a Mirai CNC server is affected, potentially disrupting botnet operations.
💻 Affected Systems
- Mirai botnet command and control (CNC) 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 CNC server resource exhaustion leading to botnet command disruption and loss of control over infected devices
Likely Case
Degraded CNC server performance causing intermittent command failures and reduced botnet effectiveness
If Mitigated
Minimal impact with proper connection limits and monitoring in place
🎯 Exploit Status
Simple TCP connection flood with recognized usernames or arbitrary data. Public exploit code available in references.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: N/A
Vendor Advisory: N/A
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
No official patch from Mirai developers. Must modify source code to properly handle unauthenticated connections or implement workarounds.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Implement connection rate limiting
linuxUse iptables or similar firewall rules to limit TCP connections per IP to the CNC port
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport [CNC_PORT] -m connlimit --connlimit-above 10 --connlimit-mask 32 -j DROP
Implement TCP connection timeout
linuxAdd connection timeout rules to drop idle connections
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport [CNC_PORT] -m state --state NEW -m recent --set
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport [CNC_PORT] -m state --state NEW -m recent --update --seconds 60 --hitcount 20 -j DROP
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Monitor CNC server resource usage (CPU, memory, connection counts) and implement alerts for abnormal spikes
- Deploy DDoS protection services or hardware in front of CNC servers to filter malicious connection attempts
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Test by establishing multiple TCP connections to CNC port without authentication and checking if connections remain open indefinitelyCheck Version:
Check Mirai source code date/timestamp - vulnerable if from or before 2024-08-19Verify Fix Applied:
After implementing workarounds, test connection flooding to verify connections are properly limited or terminated📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusually high number of TCP connections to CNC port
- Multiple failed authentication attempts from same IP
- System resource exhaustion alerts
Network Indicators:
- TCP SYN flood patterns to CNC server port
- Multiple connections from same IP with incomplete authentication
SIEM Query:
source="cnc-server" (tcp.connections > 1000) OR (auth.failed > 50 per src_ip)