CVE-2000-1155 in Robinhood
Summary
by MITRE
RHDaemon 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 • 05/28/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2000-1155 represents a classic denial of service flaw affecting the RHDaemon component within the RobinHood 1.1 web server implementation running on BeOS r5 pro and earlier versions. This issue stems from inadequate input validation mechanisms within the HTTP request processing pipeline, specifically targeting the handling of malformed or excessively long HTTP requests. The vulnerability manifests when the web server fails to properly sanitize or limit the length of incoming HTTP request data, creating a condition where malicious actors can exploit this weakness to disrupt service availability.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability resides in the RHDaemon's request parsing logic, which lacks proper bounds checking for HTTP request parameters. When an attacker submits an HTTP request containing an abnormally long payload, the daemon processes this input without sufficient validation, leading to resource exhaustion or stack overflow conditions that ultimately result in service termination. This flaw operates at the application layer of the network stack and can be classified under CWE-122 as "Heap-based Buffer Overflow" or CWE-131 as "Incorrect Calculation of Buffer Size" depending on the specific implementation details. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it requires no authentication or special privileges to exploit, making it a straightforward denial of service vector.
The operational impact of CVE-2000-1155 extends beyond simple service disruption, as it can be leveraged by attackers to create sustained availability issues for web applications hosted on affected BeOS systems. The attack surface is particularly broad given that the vulnerability affects the core web server functionality of the RobinHood 1.1 implementation, which would be utilized by organizations relying on BeOS for their web hosting infrastructure. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.004 for "Endpoint Denial of Service" and represents a fundamental security weakness that undermines the reliability and availability of the targeted web services. Organizations utilizing affected systems face potential business disruption, revenue loss, and reputational damage if this vulnerability is exploited in a production environment.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2000-1155 should focus on implementing proper input validation and request length limiting mechanisms within the web server configuration. System administrators should immediately upgrade to patched versions of the RobinHood web server or BeOS operating system where available, as the vulnerability was likely addressed through proper bounds checking implementations. Network-level protections such as rate limiting and request size restrictions can provide temporary defense in depth measures while permanent fixes are implemented. Additionally, monitoring systems should be configured to detect unusual HTTP request patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts, and regular security assessments should be conducted to identify similar input validation weaknesses in other components of the web infrastructure. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical importance of proper input validation and bounds checking in preventing denial of service conditions that can compromise system availability and user access to services.