CVE-2001-0249 in Solaris
Summary
by MITRE
Heap overflow in FTP daemon in Solaris 8 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands by creating a long pathname and calling the LIST command, which uses glob to generate long strings.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/07/2025
The vulnerability described in CVE-2001-0249 represents a critical heap overflow condition affecting the FTP daemon implementation in Solaris 8 operating systems. This flaw resides in the handling of file pathnames during FTP LIST command execution, where the system employs glob pattern matching to process directory listings. The vulnerability manifests when remote attackers construct excessively long pathnames and subsequently invoke the LIST command, triggering the heap overflow condition that can be exploited to execute arbitrary code on the target system.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and buffer management within the FTP daemon's pathname processing logic. When the LIST command is executed with a malformed pathname containing excessive characters, the glob function used to expand the pathname pattern creates overly long strings that exceed the allocated heap memory boundaries. This heap overflow condition occurs because the system fails to properly bounds-check the length of generated strings before copying them into fixed-size heap buffers. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-122, which describes heap-based buffer overflow conditions, and demonstrates poor memory management practices that have been consistently identified as critical security weaknesses in network services.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation to encompass complete system compromise. Remote attackers who successfully exploit this heap overflow can gain arbitrary code execution privileges on the Solaris 8 system, potentially leading to unauthorized access to sensitive data, system control, and further network infiltration. The attack vector is particularly concerning because it requires no authentication credentials, making it accessible to any remote user who can establish an FTP connection to the vulnerable system. This vulnerability directly maps to ATT&CK technique T1210, which covers exploitation of remote services through heap overflow attacks, and represents a classic example of how improper input handling in network services can lead to complete system compromise.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on immediate patching of the Solaris 8 FTP daemon implementation, which was provided through official Oracle security updates. System administrators should implement network segmentation to limit FTP service accessibility and consider disabling unnecessary FTP functionality where possible. Additionally, monitoring systems should be configured to detect unusual LIST command usage patterns and extended pathname lengths that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability highlights the importance of robust input validation and proper memory management in network services, emphasizing that all user-supplied data must be carefully validated and bounded before processing. Organizations should also implement regular security assessments of their network services to identify similar buffer overflow conditions that could be exploited through different attack vectors.