CVE-2001-0121 in ImageCast
Summary
by MITRE
ImageCast Control Center 4.1.0 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (resource exhaustion or system crash) via a long string to port 12002.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/29/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2001-0121 affects ImageCast Control Center version 4.1.0, a network management and monitoring application designed for multimedia content delivery systems. This flaw represents a classic buffer overflow condition that occurs when the application processes incoming data on TCP port 12002 without proper input validation or length checking mechanisms. The vulnerability exists within the application's network protocol handling code where it fails to adequately sanitize user-supplied input before processing, creating an exploitable condition that can be leveraged by remote attackers to disrupt system operations.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from improper bounds checking within the application's network communication stack. When ImageCast Control Center receives data on port 12002, it attempts to process the incoming string without validating its length against predefined buffer boundaries. This allows an attacker to craft a specially formatted payload containing an excessively long string that exceeds the allocated buffer space. The lack of input sanitization means that the application's memory management routines cannot properly handle the oversized data structure, resulting in memory corruption that manifests as system instability or complete application failure.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risk to organizations relying on ImageCast Control Center for content management and distribution services. The remote nature of the exploit means that attackers can initiate the denial of service condition from any location without requiring physical access or local credentials, making it particularly dangerous for networked environments. The impact extends beyond simple service disruption as the resource exhaustion or system crash conditions can potentially lead to extended downtime, loss of content delivery capabilities, and compromise of the broader network infrastructure. Organizations using this software may experience complete service outages until the application is manually restarted or the system is rebooted.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-121, which describes buffer overflow conditions in stack-based buffers, and demonstrates characteristics consistent with CWE-122, heap-based buffer overflow scenarios. From an attack framework perspective, this issue maps to the denial of service category within the MITRE ATT&CK framework, specifically under the technique of service disruption. The exploitability of this vulnerability is enhanced by the fact that port 12002 is a well-known service port for ImageCast applications, making it easily discoverable by automated scanning tools and increasing the likelihood of successful exploitation. Organizations should implement network segmentation to isolate critical systems running ImageCast Control Center and consider deploying intrusion detection systems to monitor for suspicious traffic patterns on port 12002.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should include immediate application patching from the vendor, which would involve implementing proper input validation and buffer boundary checking mechanisms. Network-level protections should be implemented through firewall rules that restrict access to port 12002 to only trusted sources, combined with regular network monitoring to detect anomalous traffic patterns. Additionally, system administrators should establish robust monitoring procedures to detect early signs of resource exhaustion or system instability that could indicate exploitation attempts. The implementation of input validation controls at multiple layers including application code, network firewalls, and intrusion prevention systems provides defense-in-depth protection against similar vulnerabilities. Organizations should also conduct regular vulnerability assessments to identify and remediate similar buffer overflow conditions in other network services and applications within their infrastructure.