CVE-2001-1435 in Tru64
Summary
by MITRE
inetd in Compaq Tru64 UNIX 5.1 allows attackers to cause a denial of service (network connection loss) by causing one of the services handled by inetd to core dump during startup, which causes inetd to stop accepting connections to all of its services.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/17/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2001-1435 represents a critical denial of service weakness in the inetd daemon implementation within Compaq Tru64 UNIX 5.1 operating system. This flaw operates at the network service level where inetd serves as the Internet daemon responsible for managing and launching various network services on demand. The vulnerability stems from the improper handling of service startup failures within the inetd process itself, creating a cascading failure condition that affects the entire network service infrastructure.
The technical mechanism of this vulnerability involves the inetd daemon's inability to properly recover from service startup failures that result in core dumps. When a service managed by inetd encounters a critical error during initialization and subsequently generates a core dump, the inetd process itself becomes unstable and ceases to accept new network connections for all services it manages. This behavior creates a complete service disruption where legitimate network traffic cannot be processed, effectively rendering the system's network capabilities unusable. The flaw demonstrates a lack of proper error recovery mechanisms and process isolation within the inetd implementation, making it susceptible to exploitation through controlled service failures.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability presents a severe threat to system availability and network reliability within Compaq Tru64 UNIX environments. Network administrators face the challenge of maintaining service continuity when a single vulnerable service can compromise the entire network infrastructure managed by inetd. The denial of service affects all network services simultaneously, including but not limited to telnet, ftp, ssh, and other protocols that rely on inetd for service management. This vulnerability directly violates the principle of fault isolation and can lead to extended downtime, service disruption, and potential business impact depending on the criticality of the affected services.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-284, which addresses improper access control in system services, and demonstrates characteristics consistent with the ATT&CK technique T1499.1, specifically "Endpoint Denial of Service" through resource exhaustion and process termination. The flaw represents a design weakness in the inetd daemon's error handling architecture, where the failure of one component leads to system-wide service degradation rather than isolated component failure. This type of vulnerability is particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where network availability is critical for business operations and where the cascading effect of a single service failure can impact multiple business processes.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on implementing robust error handling mechanisms within the inetd daemon configuration and system hardening practices. System administrators should consider implementing service monitoring and automatic restart mechanisms for critical network services, while also applying vendor-provided patches or updates that address the core dump handling behavior. Additionally, implementing network segmentation and redundant service management approaches can help isolate the impact of such failures. The recommended approach includes configuring inetd with proper service restart policies, implementing service monitoring tools, and maintaining regular system updates to address known vulnerabilities in system services. Organizations should also consider migrating to more modern service management frameworks that provide better error isolation and recovery capabilities than traditional inetd implementations.