CVE-2002-1368 in CUPS
Summary
by MITRE
Common Unix Printing System (CUPS) 1.1.14 through 1.1.17 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) and possibly execute arbitrary code by causing negative arguments to be fed into memcpy() calls via HTTP requests with (1) a negative Content-Length value or (2) a negative length in a chunked transfer encoding.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/07/2024
The Common Unix Printing System CUPS vulnerability CVE-2002-1368 represents a critical security flaw in print server software that affected versions 1.1.14 through 1.1.17. This vulnerability resides in the HTTP request processing functionality of the printing system, specifically within how the software handles malformed content length values during HTTP communication. The issue demonstrates a classic buffer overflow condition that occurs when the system receives specially crafted HTTP requests containing negative numeric values that are subsequently passed to memory manipulation functions.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through improper input validation within the HTTP request parsing mechanism of CUPS. When attackers submit HTTP requests containing either a negative Content-Length header value or negative length values within chunked transfer encoding, the system fails to properly validate these inputs before passing them to the memcpy() function. This function expects positive integer values for determining memory copy operations, but receives negative values that cause undefined behavior in the memory management subsystem. The vulnerability maps directly to CWE-129, which describes improper validation of length parameters, and CWE-787, which covers out-of-bounds write conditions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service to potentially enable remote code execution. When negative values are processed through memcpy() calls, the memory management system can experience crashes that may be exploitable to execute arbitrary code on the affected system. This represents a significant risk for print servers that are accessible over networks, as they become potential entry points for attackers seeking to compromise entire network infrastructures. The vulnerability affects systems where CUPS serves as the primary printing daemon, particularly in enterprise environments where centralized print management is critical.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including upgrading to patched versions of CUPS beyond the vulnerable range, implementing network segmentation to limit access to print servers, and deploying intrusion detection systems to monitor for suspicious HTTP request patterns. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under T1210, which covers exploitation of remote services, and T1059, which covers command and scripting interpreters. Additional defensive measures include configuring firewall rules to restrict HTTP traffic to print servers, implementing input validation at network boundaries, and establishing regular security audits of print server configurations. System administrators should also consider disabling unnecessary HTTP functionality in CUPS installations and monitoring for unusual patterns in print job processing that might indicate exploitation attempts.