CVE-2002-0574

Name of the Vulnerable Software and Affected Versions FreeBSD versions 4.5 and earlier

Description The issue allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service, specifically memory exhaustion, by sending ICMP echo packets. These packets trigger a bug in the ip output() function, where the reference count for a routing table entry is not decremented, preventing the entry from being removed.

Recommendations For FreeBSD versions 4.5 and earlier, consider restricting access to ICMP echo packets to minimize the risk of exploitation until a patch is available. As a temporary workaround, apply configuration changes to limit the impact of memory exhaustion, such as adjusting system parameters to reduce the memory allocation for routing table entries.