CVE-2000-1154 in Robinhood
Summary
by MITRE
RHConsole in RobinHood 1.1 web server in BeOS r5 pro and earlier allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via long HTTP request.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/21/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2000-1154 represents a classic denial of service flaw within the RobinHood 1.1 web server implementation running on BeOS r5 pro and earlier versions. This issue specifically affects the RHConsole component which serves as the administrative interface for the web server. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation mechanisms that fail to properly handle excessively long HTTP request strings, creating a condition where malicious actors can exploit the system's lack of proper boundary checking.
The technical flaw manifests when the RHConsole component processes HTTP requests without adequate length restrictions or buffer overflow protections. When an attacker submits an HTTP request containing an abnormally long payload, the web server's processing logic becomes overwhelmed and eventually crashes or becomes unresponsive. This occurs because the system attempts to allocate memory or process data structures based on the length of the incoming request without implementing proper sanitization or length validation measures. The vulnerability directly maps to CWE-122, which describes insufficient input validation leading to buffer overflows and memory corruption issues.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents a significant risk to systems running the affected RobinHood web server implementation. Remote attackers can easily exploit this weakness by crafting specially crafted HTTP requests that exceed normal processing limits, thereby causing the web server to become unavailable to legitimate users. The impact extends beyond simple service disruption as it can be used as part of larger attack campaigns targeting web infrastructure. The vulnerability demonstrates a fundamental security weakness in the server's input handling mechanisms and represents a failure to implement proper defensive programming practices.
The attack vector for this vulnerability is particularly concerning as it requires minimal technical expertise to execute successfully. Attackers need only send a specially crafted HTTP request containing an excessive number of characters to trigger the denial of service condition. This aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.004 which covers network denial of service attacks. The vulnerability's exploitation does not require authentication or special privileges, making it accessible to any remote attacker with basic network connectivity to the target system. Organizations running affected versions of BeOS with RobinHood web server should immediately implement mitigations including request length restrictions, input validation controls, and system monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts.
Mitigation strategies should focus on implementing proper input validation at the application level and configuring the web server to reject requests exceeding reasonable length thresholds. System administrators should also consider implementing network-level protections such as rate limiting and connection filtering to prevent exploitation attempts. The vulnerability highlights the importance of defensive programming practices and proper boundary checking in web server implementations. Additionally, organizations should ensure they are running patched versions of the affected software or migrate to more secure alternatives. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify similar issues in other components of the web infrastructure. The incident underscores the critical need for input validation controls and proper resource management in network services to prevent simple attacks from causing significant operational disruptions.