CVE-2001-0174 in Virus Buster 2001
Summary
by MITRE
Buffer overflow in Trend Micro Virus Buster 2001 8.00 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service, and possibly execute arbitrary commands, via a large "To" address.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/07/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2001-0174 represents a critical buffer overflow flaw within Trend Micro Virus Buster 2001 version 8.00 that specifically targets the email processing functionality of the software. This vulnerability arises from inadequate input validation when handling email addresses, particularly the "To" field in email messages. The buffer overflow occurs when the software receives an excessively long email address in the recipient field, causing the application to overwrite adjacent memory locations beyond the allocated buffer space. This fundamental flaw in memory management creates a dangerous condition that can be exploited by remote attackers to manipulate the application's execution flow.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability follows a classic buffer overflow attack pattern where malicious input exceeds the predetermined buffer boundaries, leading to potential code execution or system instability. When a remote attacker crafts an email message with an overly long "To" address, the vulnerable Trend Micro software fails to properly validate the input length before processing it. This lack of proper bounds checking allows the attacker to overwrite critical memory segments including return addresses and function pointers, potentially enabling arbitrary code execution on the targeted system. The vulnerability specifically impacts the email scanning and processing components of the antivirus software, making it particularly dangerous in environments where email traffic is processed by the antivirus solution.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service to potentially enable complete system compromise. While the primary effect manifests as denial of service through application crashes or system instability, the buffer overflow condition creates opportunities for more severe exploitation scenarios. Attackers could potentially leverage this vulnerability to execute malicious code with the privileges of the running antivirus process, which typically operates with elevated permissions. This could result in unauthorized access to sensitive system resources, data exfiltration, or establishment of persistent backdoors within the network environment. The vulnerability affects organizations that rely on Trend Micro Virus Buster 2001 for email protection, making it a significant concern for enterprise security infrastructure.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-121, which describes heap-based buffer overflow conditions, and represents a classic example of improper input validation in network services. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving command and control communications through email protocols and privilege escalation via application exploitation. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying available patches from Trend Micro, implementing email filtering rules to limit address length validation, and monitoring for suspicious email traffic patterns. Network segmentation and email gateway solutions should be deployed to prevent direct exposure of vulnerable antivirus systems to external email traffic. Additionally, regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify similar weaknesses in other security software components and ensure comprehensive protection against similar buffer overflow exploits.
This vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of input validation in security software, particularly in email processing components where malformed input can originate from untrusted sources. The exploitation of such flaws in antivirus software is particularly concerning as these applications often run with elevated privileges and process sensitive data from multiple sources. Organizations should maintain updated security patches and conduct regular vulnerability assessments to prevent exploitation of similar weaknesses in their security infrastructure. The incident underscores the need for robust memory safety practices and proper bounds checking in all software components that handle external input, especially in security-critical applications where failure can result in complete system compromise rather than simple service disruption.