CVE-2002-0102 in Application Server Web Cache
Summary
by MITRE
Oracle9iAS Web Cache 2.0.0.x allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via (1) a request to TCP ports 1100, 4000, 4001, and 4002 with a large number of null characters, and (2) a request to TCP port 4000 with a large number of "." characters.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/23/2025
Oracle9iAS Web Cache version 2.0.0.x contains a vulnerability that enables remote attackers to execute denial of service attacks against the system through carefully crafted network requests. This vulnerability specifically targets the cache service listening on multiple TCP ports including 1100, 4000, 4001, and 4002, where the system fails to properly validate incoming data streams. The flaw manifests when attackers send malformed requests containing excessive null characters to ports 1100, 4000, 4001, and 4002, or when they flood port 4000 with an excessive number of period characters. These malformed requests exploit a lack of input sanitization in the web cache service implementation, causing the application to consume excessive system resources or crash entirely. The vulnerability directly maps to CWE-400, which describes unchecked resource consumption, and falls under the broader category of resource exhaustion attacks. From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses a significant risk to organizations relying on Oracle9iAS Web Cache for content delivery and web application acceleration, as successful exploitation can result in complete service unavailability and disruption of business operations. The attack vectors leverage the fundamental weakness in protocol handling where the cache service does not implement proper bounds checking or input validation for incoming network traffic, making it susceptible to buffer overflows or memory exhaustion scenarios. The specific ports targeted represent different service functionalities within the Oracle9iAS Web Cache architecture, with port 4000 typically serving as the primary cache service endpoint while the other ports handle auxiliary functions. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability aligns with T1499.004 which covers network denial of service attacks, and T1595.001 which involves network scanning techniques used to identify vulnerable services. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including network segmentation to restrict access to these vulnerable ports, deployment of intrusion detection systems to monitor for suspicious traffic patterns, and application-level rate limiting to prevent exploitation attempts. The most effective long-term solution involves upgrading to a patched version of Oracle9iAS Web Cache where proper input validation and resource management mechanisms have been implemented to prevent the exploitation of these malformed requests. System administrators should also consider implementing firewall rules that restrict access to these specific ports from untrusted networks and monitor for unusual traffic patterns that may indicate attempted exploitation of this vulnerability.