CVE-2000-1192 in SNMP Trap Watcher
Summary
by MITRE
Buffer overflow in BTT Software SNMP Trap Watcher 1.16 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service, and possibly execute arbitrary commands, via a long string trap.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/08/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2000-1192 represents a critical buffer overflow flaw within the BTT Software SNMP Trap Watcher version 1.16. This software component serves as a network monitoring tool designed to receive and process SNMP trap messages from network devices, making it a crucial element in enterprise network management infrastructure. The buffer overflow occurs when the application processes incoming SNMP trap messages containing excessively long string data, specifically in the trap handling mechanism. This flaw manifests as a classic stack-based buffer overflow where an attacker can overwrite adjacent memory locations by sending a malformed trap message with an oversized string field. The vulnerability falls under CWE-121, which categorizes stack-based buffer overflow conditions, and demonstrates how improper input validation can lead to memory corruption in network services. The impact extends beyond simple denial of service as the vulnerability may potentially allow remote code execution, making it particularly dangerous for network administrators who rely on this monitoring tool for critical infrastructure oversight.
The operational implications of this vulnerability are severe for organizations utilizing the affected SNMP Trap Watcher software. Attackers can exploit this weakness to either crash the monitoring service, causing a denial of service that disrupts network monitoring capabilities, or potentially execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the running process. This dual nature of the vulnerability means that a successful attack could lead to complete system compromise, especially if the monitoring service runs with elevated privileges. The attack vector is particularly concerning because it requires no authentication and can be executed remotely, allowing threat actors to exploit the vulnerability from anywhere on the network. Network administrators may not immediately detect such attacks since the system appears to function normally until the overflow occurs, at which point the service crashes or potentially executes malicious code. The vulnerability is classified under the MITRE ATT&CK technique T1203, which involves legitimate credentials and network services manipulation, as it leverages the normal operation of SNMP trap handling to achieve its malicious objectives.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations to protect their network infrastructure. The most effective approach involves applying the vendor-provided patch or upgrade to a version that addresses the buffer overflow condition in the SNMP trap processing code. Network segmentation and access controls should be implemented to limit exposure of the vulnerable service to untrusted networks, while firewall rules can be configured to restrict SNMP trap traffic to only trusted sources. Input validation measures should be enhanced at the network level to filter out unusually long string fields in SNMP trap messages before they reach the vulnerable application. Security monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual patterns in trap message sizes or repeated connection attempts that might indicate exploitation attempts. Regular vulnerability assessments should be conducted to identify other potentially vulnerable network management tools within the infrastructure, as similar buffer overflow vulnerabilities may exist in other network monitoring applications. The remediation process should include thorough testing of the patched software to ensure that the fix does not introduce compatibility issues with existing network monitoring configurations, and that the updated system maintains all necessary functionality for network operations.