CVE-2000-1160 in Sniffer Agent
Summary
by MITRE
NAI Sniffer Agent allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) by sending a large number of login requests.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/07/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2000-1160 affects the NAI Sniffer Agent, a network monitoring and security tool developed by Network Associates. This flaw represents a classic denial of service vulnerability that exploits the agent's insufficient input validation mechanisms when processing authentication requests. The vulnerability specifically manifests when the system receives an excessive volume of login attempts, causing the Sniffer Agent to crash and become unavailable to legitimate users. This type of vulnerability falls under the broader category of resource exhaustion attacks, where malicious actors exploit the lack of proper rate limiting or request handling controls to disrupt service availability.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate boundary checking within the authentication processing module of the Sniffer Agent. When multiple login requests are simultaneously sent to the agent, the system fails to properly manage memory allocation and request processing queues, leading to a buffer overflow condition or resource exhaustion that ultimately results in the application crashing. This flaw demonstrates a fundamental weakness in the software's defensive programming practices and highlights the absence of proper input sanitization and request throttling mechanisms. From a cybersecurity perspective, this vulnerability represents a significant risk as it can be easily exploited using automated tools to generate sustained attack traffic.
The operational impact of CVE-2000-1160 extends beyond simple service disruption, as it can severely compromise network monitoring capabilities and overall security posture. When the Sniffer Agent crashes, organizations lose critical network visibility and monitoring functionality, potentially creating blind spots in their security infrastructure. This vulnerability is particularly concerning because it can be exploited remotely without requiring authentication, making it accessible to any attacker with network connectivity to the affected system. The attack can be executed through simple network tools that generate high volumes of login requests, making it an attractive target for malicious actors seeking to disrupt network operations or create cover for more sophisticated attacks. Organizations relying on this monitoring tool for intrusion detection and network analysis face significant operational risks when this vulnerability exists unpatched.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on implementing immediate defensive measures while planning for permanent fixes. Network administrators should deploy rate limiting controls at network boundaries to restrict the number of login requests that can be processed within a given time frame, effectively preventing the exploitation of this vulnerability. The implementation of proper input validation and boundary checking mechanisms within the application code is essential for addressing the root cause. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing intrusion detection systems that can identify and alert on unusual login request patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. From a compliance perspective, this vulnerability aligns with various security standards including those outlined in the CWE taxonomy under weakness category 132 which covers improper validation of input. The attack vector and execution method of this vulnerability can be mapped to ATT&CK techniques related to denial of service and resource exhaustion, specifically targeting the service availability of critical network infrastructure components. Organizations should also implement regular vulnerability assessments and penetration testing to identify similar weaknesses in other network monitoring tools and security systems.