CVE-2000-1213 in iputils
Summary
by MITRE
ping in iputils before 20001010, as distributed on Red Hat Linux 6.2 through 7J and other operating systems, does not drop privileges after acquiring a raw socket, which increases ping s exposure to bugs that otherwise would occur at lower privileges.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/27/2018
The vulnerability described in CVE-2000-1213 represents a critical privilege escalation issue within the ping utility distributed with iputils package versions prior to 20001010. This flaw exists in the fundamental design of how ping handles network socket operations, specifically in its failure to properly drop elevated privileges after establishing raw socket connections. The vulnerability affects Red Hat Linux 6.2 through 7J and numerous other operating systems that shipped with this version of the iputils package, creating a widespread security concern across multiple system architectures and deployment scenarios.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability stems from the ping utility's improper privilege management during socket initialization. When ping executes, it requires elevated privileges to create raw sockets necessary for sending ICMP packets, but fails to drop these privileges once the socket is established. This design flaw allows the utility to operate with root-level permissions throughout its execution lifecycle, even after the raw socket operations are complete. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-250 as "Execute Non-Privileged Code with Privileged Access" and represents a direct violation of the principle of least privilege that should govern all system utilities. The persistence of elevated privileges creates an extended attack surface where any code execution vulnerabilities within ping's functionality could be exploited by malicious actors to gain root access to the system.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant and multifaceted across different threat scenarios. An attacker who can influence ping's execution or manipulate its input parameters could potentially exploit this privilege escalation to execute arbitrary code with root privileges. This risk is particularly concerning given that ping is a commonly used system utility that typically runs with elevated privileges, making it an attractive target for exploitation. The vulnerability creates a persistent security risk because the elevated privileges remain active throughout ping's execution, rather than being dropped after socket creation. This behavior aligns with ATT&CK technique T1068 which describes the exploitation of legitimate credentials and elevated privileges to gain access to systems, and T1548.001 which covers privilege escalation through the use of legitimate credentials. The vulnerability also demonstrates characteristics of T1566 which involves social engineering attacks that could leverage the persistent elevated privileges to maintain access.
The recommended mitigations for this vulnerability involve immediate patching of the iputils package to a version that properly implements privilege dropping after raw socket acquisition. System administrators should ensure that all affected systems are updated to iputils versions released after October 10, 2000, which contain the necessary security fixes. Additionally, organizations should implement comprehensive privilege management policies that enforce the principle of least privilege for all system utilities. Regular security audits should verify that utilities requiring elevated privileges properly drop these privileges after completing their necessary operations. Network administrators should also consider implementing additional monitoring and logging of ping utility usage to detect any anomalous behavior that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability highlights the critical importance of privilege separation in system utilities and serves as a reminder that even seemingly benign utilities like ping can represent significant security risks when not properly designed with security principles in mind.