CVE-2024-34050 is a vulnerability identified in the Open Networking Foundation's SD-RAN Rimedo rimedo-ts version 0.1.1. The issue arises from a slice bounds out-of-range panic in the Go source file reader.go, specifically in the expression "return uint64(b[2])<<16 | uint64(b[1])<<8 | uint64(b[0])". This code attempts to access three bytes from a slice 'b' without verifying that the slice contains at least three elements, leading to an out-of-bounds read when the slice is shorter. This triggers a runtime panic in Go, causing the application to crash and resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-129 (Improper Validation of Array Index) and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5, indicating high severity. The attack vector is network-based (AV:N), requires no privileges (PR:N), no user interaction (UI:N), and affects availability (A:H) without impacting confidentiality or integrity. No patches or fixes are currently linked, and no known exploits have been reported in the wild. The vulnerability affects the SD-RAN Rimedo rimedo-ts component used in software-defined radio access networks, which are critical for modern telecommunications infrastructure.

The primary impact of CVE-2024-34050 is a denial of service (DoS) caused by application crashes due to out-of-bounds slice access. For organizations deploying the affected SD-RAN Rimedo rimedo-ts component, this can lead to service interruptions in radio access network functions, potentially degrading network availability and reliability. Telecommunications providers relying on SD-RAN for 4G/5G infrastructure may experience outages or degraded performance, affecting end-users and critical communications. Since the vulnerability can be exploited remotely without authentication or user interaction, attackers can disrupt services at scale. Although it does not compromise data confidentiality or integrity, the availability impact can have cascading effects on dependent services and customer trust. The lack of known exploits currently reduces immediate risk, but the ease of triggering the panic suggests potential for future exploitation. Organizations may face operational and reputational risks if the vulnerability is exploited in production environments.

To mitigate CVE-2024-34050, organizations should first monitor for updates or patches from the Open Networking Foundation or the Rimedo project and apply them promptly once available. In the absence of official patches, developers should review and modify the affected code to include proper bounds checking before accessing slice elements, ensuring that the slice 'b' contains at least three bytes before performing the bitwise operations. Implementing input validation and sanitization on data processed by the reader.go component can prevent malformed or truncated slices from triggering the panic. Additionally, deploying runtime protections such as process supervision and automatic restarts can reduce downtime caused by crashes. Network-level mitigations include restricting access to the vulnerable service to trusted sources and employing intrusion detection systems to monitor for anomalous traffic patterns. Comprehensive logging and alerting should be enabled to detect repeated crash attempts indicative of exploitation attempts. Finally, organizations should conduct thorough testing of SD-RAN components in staging environments to identify and remediate similar issues proactively.