CVE-1999-1336: 3Com HiPer Access Router Card (HiperARC) 4.0 through 4.2.29 allows remote attackers to cause a denia
3Com HiPer Access Router Card (HiperARC) 4.0 through 4.2.29 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (reboot) via a flood of IAC packets to the telnet port.
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
CVE-1999-1336 is a vulnerability affecting the 3Com HiPer Access Router Card (HiperARC) versions 4.0 through 4.2.29. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition by sending a flood of Interpret As Command (IAC) packets to the device's telnet port. The IAC packets are part of the Telnet protocol used for command and control sequences. By overwhelming the router card with these packets, the device can be forced to reboot, disrupting network connectivity and availability. The vulnerability does not impact confidentiality or integrity, as it does not allow unauthorized data access or modification. It requires no authentication and can be exploited remotely over the network, making it relatively easy to trigger if the device is exposed. The affected product is a specialized network hardware component used primarily in legacy network environments. There is no patch available for this vulnerability, and no known exploits have been reported in the wild. The CVSS score is 5.0 (medium severity), reflecting the limited impact scope (availability only) and ease of exploitation without authentication.
Potential Impact
For European organizations, the primary impact of this vulnerability is the potential disruption of network services due to forced reboots of affected 3Com HiperARC router cards. This can lead to temporary loss of connectivity, impacting business operations, especially in environments relying on legacy network hardware. Critical infrastructure or organizations with legacy network segments using these devices could experience operational downtime, affecting service delivery and potentially causing cascading effects on dependent systems. However, given the age of the vulnerability and the specialized nature of the hardware, the overall risk is limited to organizations still operating these legacy devices. The lack of confidentiality or integrity impact reduces the risk of data breaches, but availability interruptions could still affect business continuity and incident response capabilities.
Mitigation Recommendations
Since no patch is available, mitigation should focus on network-level controls and device isolation. Organizations should: 1) Identify and inventory any 3Com HiperARC devices in their network to assess exposure. 2) Restrict access to the telnet port of these devices by implementing firewall rules or access control lists (ACLs) to allow only trusted management hosts. 3) Disable telnet access if possible and replace it with more secure management protocols such as SSH, or isolate the device management network. 4) Monitor network traffic for unusual IAC packet floods targeting these devices to detect potential exploitation attempts. 5) Consider upgrading or replacing legacy 3Com HiperARC hardware with modern, supported network equipment to eliminate the vulnerability and improve overall security posture. 6) Implement network segmentation to limit the impact of any device reboot and maintain redundancy where possible.
Affected Countries
Germany, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands
CVE-1999-1336: 3Com HiPer Access Router Card (HiperARC) 4.0 through 4.2.29 allows remote attackers to cause a denia
Description
3Com HiPer Access Router Card (HiperARC) 4.0 through 4.2.29 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (reboot) via a flood of IAC packets to the telnet port.
AI-Powered Analysis
Technical Analysis
CVE-1999-1336 is a vulnerability affecting the 3Com HiPer Access Router Card (HiperARC) versions 4.0 through 4.2.29. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition by sending a flood of Interpret As Command (IAC) packets to the device's telnet port. The IAC packets are part of the Telnet protocol used for command and control sequences. By overwhelming the router card with these packets, the device can be forced to reboot, disrupting network connectivity and availability. The vulnerability does not impact confidentiality or integrity, as it does not allow unauthorized data access or modification. It requires no authentication and can be exploited remotely over the network, making it relatively easy to trigger if the device is exposed. The affected product is a specialized network hardware component used primarily in legacy network environments. There is no patch available for this vulnerability, and no known exploits have been reported in the wild. The CVSS score is 5.0 (medium severity), reflecting the limited impact scope (availability only) and ease of exploitation without authentication.
Potential Impact
For European organizations, the primary impact of this vulnerability is the potential disruption of network services due to forced reboots of affected 3Com HiperARC router cards. This can lead to temporary loss of connectivity, impacting business operations, especially in environments relying on legacy network hardware. Critical infrastructure or organizations with legacy network segments using these devices could experience operational downtime, affecting service delivery and potentially causing cascading effects on dependent systems. However, given the age of the vulnerability and the specialized nature of the hardware, the overall risk is limited to organizations still operating these legacy devices. The lack of confidentiality or integrity impact reduces the risk of data breaches, but availability interruptions could still affect business continuity and incident response capabilities.
Mitigation Recommendations
Since no patch is available, mitigation should focus on network-level controls and device isolation. Organizations should: 1) Identify and inventory any 3Com HiperARC devices in their network to assess exposure. 2) Restrict access to the telnet port of these devices by implementing firewall rules or access control lists (ACLs) to allow only trusted management hosts. 3) Disable telnet access if possible and replace it with more secure management protocols such as SSH, or isolate the device management network. 4) Monitor network traffic for unusual IAC packet floods targeting these devices to detect potential exploitation attempts. 5) Consider upgrading or replacing legacy 3Com HiperARC hardware with modern, supported network equipment to eliminate the vulnerability and improve overall security posture. 6) Implement network segmentation to limit the impact of any device reboot and maintain redundancy where possible.
Affected Countries
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Threat ID: 682ca32cb6fd31d6ed7df17a
Added to database: 5/20/2025, 3:43:40 PM
Last enriched: 7/1/2025, 4:13:08 PM
Last updated: 7/25/2025, 9:50:22 PM
Views: 13
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