CVE-2002-0992 in HP-UX
Summary
by MITRE
Unknown vulnerability in IPV6 functionality for DCE daemons (1) dced or (2) rpcd on HP-UX 11.11 allows attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) via an attack that modifies internal data.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/14/2017
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2002-0992 represents a critical flaw within the IPv6 implementation of Distributed Computing Environment daemons on HP-UX 11.11 systems. This issue affects two primary daemon processes namely dced and rpcd which form essential components of the distributed computing infrastructure. The vulnerability manifests as an insufficient input validation mechanism that fails to properly handle malformed IPv6 packets or data structures during processing. When attackers exploit this weakness, they can manipulate internal data structures within the daemon processes causing them to crash and subsequently resulting in a denial of service condition that affects legitimate system operations.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-125, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions that can occur when processing network data. The flaw specifically impacts the IPv6 stack implementation within the DCE framework where internal state management becomes corrupted due to improper data handling. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability by sending specially crafted IPv6 packets or manipulating the internal data structures that these daemons maintain during operation. The attack vector operates at the network level where the malicious input directly influences the daemon's memory management and internal data processing routines, leading to unpredictable behavior and system instability.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risks to enterprise environments relying on HP-UX 11.11 systems with DCE services. The denial of service condition can disrupt critical distributed computing operations, affecting application availability and potentially causing cascading failures across interconnected systems. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it affects core system daemons that provide essential network services, making it difficult for administrators to distinguish between legitimate network traffic and malicious exploitation attempts. The crash condition can occur without any explicit authentication requirements, making the attack surface particularly wide and the potential for disruption substantial.
The mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should encompass multiple layers of defense including immediate patch application from HP to address the underlying IPv6 implementation flaw. Network segmentation and access control measures can help limit exposure by restricting direct access to the affected daemons from untrusted networks. Implementing network monitoring and intrusion detection systems can help identify exploitation attempts through anomalous traffic patterns or unexpected daemon restarts. Additionally, administrators should consider disabling unnecessary IPv6 functionality if it is not required for operations, thereby reducing the attack surface. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of regular security assessments and vulnerability management programs that can identify and remediate similar issues before they can be exploited in production environments. Organizations should also consider implementing the principle of least privilege for daemon processes and ensuring proper system hardening practices are in place to minimize the impact of such vulnerabilities.