CVE-2002-0834 in Ethereal
Summary
by MITRE
Buffer overflow in the ISIS dissector for Ethereal 0.9.5 and earlier allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service or execute arbitrary code via malformed packets.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/28/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2002-0834 represents a critical buffer overflow flaw within the ISIS dissector component of Ethereal network protocol analyzer version 0.9.5 and earlier. This issue resides in the packet parsing functionality that processes Intermediate System to Intermediate System routing protocol traffic, which is fundamental to routing in OSI networks. The buffer overflow occurs when the software attempts to process malformed ISIS packets that exceed the allocated buffer space during packet analysis, creating a condition where attackers can manipulate the program's memory execution flow through carefully crafted malicious packets.
This technical flaw directly maps to CWE-121, which describes buffer overflow conditions where insufficient bounds checking allows attackers to write beyond allocated memory regions. The vulnerability exists in the dissector module responsible for interpreting and displaying network protocol data, making it particularly dangerous as it can be triggered during normal network monitoring operations. When an attacker sends specially crafted ISIS packets to a system running the vulnerable Ethereal version, the software's failure to properly validate packet lengths and content leads to memory corruption that can result in either application crashes or arbitrary code execution.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service scenarios to potentially enable remote code execution on systems running vulnerable versions of Ethereal. This makes it particularly concerning for network security professionals who rely on protocol analyzers for monitoring and troubleshooting network traffic. Attackers can exploit this vulnerability to gain unauthorized access to systems, escalate privileges, or cause persistent service disruptions that could affect network operations and security monitoring capabilities. The vulnerability affects systems where Ethereal is running in promiscuous mode or when analyzing network traffic from potentially malicious sources.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2002-0834 focus primarily on immediate software updates and patches to address the buffer overflow condition in the ISIS dissector. Organizations should upgrade to Ethereal version 0.9.6 or later where this vulnerability has been resolved through proper bounds checking and input validation mechanisms. Network administrators should also consider implementing network segmentation and access controls to limit exposure of vulnerable systems, while monitoring for suspicious network traffic patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of input validation in network protocol analysis tools and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059 for execution through protocol analysis tools, emphasizing the need for robust security practices in network monitoring applications.