CVE-2002-1439 in HP-UX
Summary
by MITRE
Unknown vulnerability related to stack corruption in the TGA daemon for HP-UX 11.04 (VVOS) Virtualvault 4.0, 4.5, and 4.6 may allow attackers to obtain access to system files.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/01/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2002-1439 represents a critical stack corruption issue within the TGA daemon component of HP-UX 11.04 systems running Virtualvault 4.0, 4.5, and 4.6 software versions. This daemon serves as a crucial system service responsible for handling TGA (Truevision TGA) image file processing within the Virtualvault environment, which is designed for secure document management and storage. The stack corruption vulnerability specifically manifests in the daemon's handling of malformed or specially crafted TGA image files that are processed through the Virtualvault system's file ingestion pipeline.
The technical flaw stems from insufficient input validation and memory management within the TGA daemon's parsing routines. When processing TGA image files, the daemon fails to properly validate buffer boundaries and stack frame integrity, creating opportunities for attackers to manipulate memory layout through carefully constructed input data. This vulnerability operates at the intersection of multiple cybersecurity domains including buffer overflow conditions, memory corruption, and privilege escalation vectors. The weakness directly maps to CWE-121, which describes stack-based buffer overflow conditions where insufficient bounds checking allows attackers to overwrite adjacent stack memory locations.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation to encompass complete system compromise and unauthorized access to sensitive data repositories. Attackers exploiting this vulnerability can potentially gain access to system files that contain confidential information, user credentials, and sensitive organizational data stored within the Virtualvault environment. The attack surface is particularly concerning as it targets a daemon process that operates with elevated privileges and maintains access to the underlying file system. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1068 which covers 'Exploitation for Privilege Escalation' and T1074 which covers 'Data Staged" where attackers can leverage such vulnerabilities to access and exfiltrate system files.
The security implications of this vulnerability are compounded by the fact that it affects multiple versions of the Virtualvault software, suggesting a widespread exposure across affected HP-UX installations. The TGA daemon's role in processing image files makes it particularly susceptible to exploitation through social engineering tactics where attackers might send malicious TGA files as part of phishing campaigns or through other file transfer mechanisms. This vulnerability represents a classic example of how seemingly innocuous file processing components can become attack vectors for system compromise, highlighting the importance of thorough input validation and memory safety in system services. Organizations running affected systems should immediately implement patch management procedures and consider network segmentation to limit potential attack vectors while monitoring for suspicious file processing activities.