CVE-2001-0298 in WebReflex
Summary
by MITRE
Buffer overflow in WebReflex 1.55 HTTPd allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service, and possibly execute arbitrary commands, via a long HTTP GET request.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/03/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2001-0298 represents a critical buffer overflow flaw within the WebReflex 1.55 HTTP daemon implementation. This issue manifests when the web server processes malformed HTTP GET requests containing excessive data in the request line or headers, leading to memory corruption that can be exploited by remote attackers. The vulnerability resides in the server's handling of user-supplied input without proper bounds checking, creating an opportunity for attackers to overwrite adjacent memory locations and potentially gain control over the affected system. The flaw specifically impacts the HTTP daemon component of WebReflex 1.55, which serves as the primary interface for handling web requests and responses.
The technical exploitation of this buffer overflow vulnerability follows a classic pattern where attackers craft malicious HTTP GET requests containing oversized payloads that exceed the allocated buffer space within the WebReflex server process. When the HTTP daemon attempts to parse and store this excessive data, it writes beyond the intended memory boundaries, potentially corrupting critical program structures such as return addresses, function pointers, or stack variables. This memory corruption can lead to unpredictable program behavior, including application crashes, segmentation faults, or in more sophisticated exploitation scenarios, complete system compromise. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it can be triggered through simple web requests without requiring authentication or special privileges from the attacker, making it an attractive target for automated exploitation tools.
The operational impact of CVE-2001-0298 extends beyond simple denial of service conditions to potentially enable remote code execution capabilities. When successfully exploited, attackers can inject and execute arbitrary code within the context of the WebReflex HTTP daemon process, which typically runs with elevated privileges. This privilege escalation capability can allow attackers to gain full control over the affected system, install backdoors, exfiltrate sensitive data, or establish persistent access for further compromise. The vulnerability affects organizations running WebReflex 1.55 servers in production environments, potentially exposing web applications, databases, and other network services hosted on these systems to unauthorized access and manipulation.
Security practitioners should implement immediate mitigations including applying vendor patches or upgrading to newer versions of WebReflex that address this buffer overflow vulnerability. Network segmentation and access controls can provide additional defense-in-depth measures to limit exposure of vulnerable systems to external threats. Monitoring for unusual HTTP GET request patterns and implementing intrusion detection systems capable of identifying malformed requests can help detect exploitation attempts. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-121, which describes stack-based buffer overflow conditions, and demonstrates characteristics consistent with techniques documented in the ATT&CK framework under T1059 for command and scripting interpreter and T1499 for network denial of service. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls and input validation controls to prevent similar vulnerabilities in other web applications and services throughout their infrastructure.