CVE-2001-0037 in Homeseer
Summary
by MITRE
Directory traversal vulnerability in HomeSeer before 1.4.29 allows remote attackers to read arbitrary files via a URL containing .. (dot dot) specifiers.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/20/2025
The vulnerability described in CVE-2001-0037 represents a classic directory traversal flaw that affected HomeSeer software versions prior to 1.4.29. This type of vulnerability falls under the common weakness enumeration CWE-22, which specifically addresses improper limitation of a pathname to a restricted directory, also known as path traversal or directory traversal. The issue manifests when the application fails to properly validate or sanitize user-supplied input that contains directory path references, allowing malicious actors to access files outside the intended directory structure.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through the manipulation of URL parameters containing .. (dot dot) sequences that represent parent directory references in file systems. When HomeSeer processes these malformed URLs without proper input validation, it interprets the .. sequences as legitimate path navigation commands, enabling attackers to traverse the file system hierarchy and access sensitive files that should remain protected. This flaw essentially allows an attacker to bypass normal access controls and retrieve arbitrary files from the server's file system, potentially including configuration files, database contents, or other sensitive data.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant as it provides remote attackers with unauthorized access to the underlying file system of the HomeSeer application. Attackers could potentially access configuration files containing database credentials, user authentication details, or other sensitive information that could lead to further exploitation. The vulnerability's remote nature means that attackers do not require local system access or physical presence, making it particularly dangerous for networked applications. This type of vulnerability is classified under the attack technique T1083 in the ATT&CK framework, which covers discovery of file and directory permissions weaknesses, and represents a fundamental security flaw that undermines the principle of least privilege.
The remediation for this vulnerability involves implementing proper input validation and sanitization mechanisms within the HomeSeer application. This includes validating all user-supplied input that may be used in file path operations, rejecting or encoding special characters such as .. sequences, and implementing proper access controls that restrict file system access to authorized operations only. The software vendor addressed this issue in version 1.4.29 through proper input validation and path normalization techniques that prevent the exploitation of directory traversal opportunities. Organizations should also implement web application firewalls and input filtering mechanisms to provide additional protection layers against similar vulnerabilities in their infrastructure.