CVE-2002-1507 in Unreal Tournament Server
Summary
by MITRE
Unreal Tournament 2003 (ut2003) clients and servers allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service via malformed messages containing a small number of characters to UDP ports 7778 or 10777.
If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/03/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2002-1507 affects the Unreal Tournament 2003 multiplayer gaming platform, specifically targeting both client and server implementations that operate over UDP protocols. This weakness manifests when the system receives malformed network messages containing minimal character counts directed at UDP ports 7778 or 10777, which are standard ports used by the game for network communication and matchmaking services. The vulnerability represents a classic denial of service condition where malicious actors can exploit the protocol parsing mechanisms to disrupt legitimate gameplay sessions and prevent normal network operations.
The technical flaw stems from insufficient input validation within the Unreal Tournament 2003 network stack implementation. When the system processes incoming UDP packets containing truncated or malformed data, the parsing routines fail to properly handle edge cases or malformed payloads that contain only a small number of characters. This inadequate sanitization allows attackers to craft specially constructed packets that trigger buffer overflows, memory corruption, or infinite loop conditions within the game's networking code. The vulnerability specifically targets the protocol handling layer where the system attempts to interpret and process incoming network messages without sufficient bounds checking or character validation mechanisms.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption to potentially compromise the entire gaming ecosystem. Attackers can exploit this weakness to create persistent denial of service conditions that prevent legitimate players from accessing servers, disrupt ongoing matches, and force administrators to restart services manually. The vulnerability affects both client and server implementations, meaning that an attacker could potentially compromise either end of the network communication, making it particularly dangerous in multiplayer environments where server stability is crucial for maintaining game sessions. The limited character count requirement makes this attack vector particularly stealthy and easy to implement, as attackers need only send minimal network traffic to trigger the vulnerability.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2002-1507 should focus on implementing robust network filtering and input validation measures. Organizations should deploy UDP port filtering at network boundaries to restrict access to ports 7778 and 10777, particularly when these services are not required for legitimate operations. The implementation of proper bounds checking and character validation within the game's network parsing routines would address the root cause of the vulnerability, aligning with CWE-129 standards for input validation and proper array bounds checking. Network administrators should also consider implementing intrusion detection systems that can identify and block malformed UDP traffic patterns associated with this specific vulnerability. Additionally, applying official patches from the game vendor, while noting that this is an older vulnerability from 2002, would provide the most comprehensive solution. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under network service attacks and specifically relates to the technique of service denial through malformed input, emphasizing the importance of proper protocol handling and input sanitization in maintaining system availability and preventing unauthorized disruption of network services.