CVE-2001-1229 in Icecast
Summary
by MITRE
Buffer overflows in (1) Icecast before 1.3.9 and (2) libshout before 1.0.4 allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) and execute arbitrary code.
If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/25/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2001-1229 represents a critical buffer overflow issue affecting two widely used open source streaming media components. Icecast, a popular open source media streaming server, and libshout, a library used for streaming audio to Icecast servers, were both susceptible to this flaw that existed in versions prior to 1.3.9 and 1.0.4 respectively. This vulnerability falls under the category of software security flaws that can be exploited remotely, making it particularly dangerous for systems that rely on these streaming components for audio broadcasting or media distribution services.
The technical implementation of this buffer overflow vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation within the handling of network requests and data processing routines. When remote attackers send specially crafted malformed data packets to Icecast servers or applications using libshout, the vulnerable code fails to properly bounds-check incoming data before copying it into fixed-size memory buffers. This lack of proper memory management creates an exploitable condition where attacker-controlled data can overwrite adjacent memory locations, potentially corrupting program execution flow and allowing for arbitrary code execution. The vulnerability specifically manifests when processing HTTP headers, authentication requests, or streaming metadata that exceeds the allocated buffer space, leading to stack corruption or heap-based memory corruption patterns.
The operational impact of CVE-2001-1229 extends beyond simple denial of service conditions to encompass full system compromise capabilities. Remote attackers can leverage this vulnerability to crash the affected services, causing denial of service for legitimate users who rely on streaming services. More critically, the buffer overflow conditions enable attackers to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the running process, typically resulting in complete system compromise. This vulnerability is particularly concerning for media streaming servers that handle sensitive content or serve as part of larger network infrastructures, as successful exploitation could lead to unauthorized access, data exfiltration, or the establishment of persistent backdoors within the network. The vulnerability affects systems where these components are deployed in production environments, including radio stations, podcast platforms, and corporate audio streaming solutions.
Organizations should prioritize immediate remediation by upgrading to patched versions of both Icecast and libshout, specifically versions 1.3.9 and 1.0.4 respectively. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-121, which describes stack-based buffer overflow conditions, and represents a classic example of improper input validation that enables code execution attacks. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving command and control communications, privilege escalation, and remote code execution. Additional mitigations include implementing network segmentation to limit access to streaming services, deploying intrusion detection systems to monitor for exploitation attempts, and applying network access controls to restrict unauthorized connections to streaming ports. Security teams should also consider implementing application-level firewalls and monitoring for anomalous data patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts, particularly focusing on HTTP header manipulation and authentication request anomalies that could precede successful exploitation of this buffer overflow condition.