CVE-2002-1610 in Tru64 UNIX
Summary
by MITRE
Unknown vulnerability in ping in HP Tru64 UNIX 5.1a, 5.1, 5.0a, 4.0g, and 4.0f allows local users to cause a denial of service.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/18/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2002-1610 represents a critical security flaw within the ping utility implementation on HP Tru64 UNIX operating systems across multiple versions including 5.1a, 5.1, 5.0a, 4.0g, and 4.0f. This issue manifests as a local denial of service condition that can be exploited by users with local system access, potentially disrupting network connectivity and system operations. The ping utility, which is fundamental for network diagnostics and connectivity verification, becomes compromised in such a way that legitimate network operations may be interrupted or terminated unexpectedly.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from improper input validation or handling within the ping command implementation. When local users execute specific malformed or crafted input sequences against the ping utility, the system fails to properly process these inputs and instead crashes or becomes unresponsive. This type of vulnerability typically involves buffer overflows, improper state management, or inadequate error handling mechanisms within the ping binary. The flaw allows an attacker with local access to craft specific commands or parameters that trigger the utility to enter an undefined state, effectively rendering the network diagnostic functionality unavailable.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risks to system availability and network reliability within HP Tru64 UNIX environments. Network administrators and system operators who rely on ping for routine network monitoring and troubleshooting may find their diagnostic capabilities compromised, potentially leading to extended downtime during critical network issues. The local privilege requirement means that while the vulnerability is accessible to users with basic system access, it does not represent a remote attack vector, yet it still poses substantial operational risk as local access is often more readily obtainable than remote access in many environments.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-121, which addresses stack-based buffer overflow conditions, and CWE-122, which covers heap-based buffer overflow scenarios, indicating that the underlying technical flaw likely involves improper memory management within the ping utility's code execution path. From an attack framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to ATT&CK technique T1499.004, which covers network disruption through denial of service attacks, and T1068, which involves privilege escalation to gain local system access. The local nature of exploitation makes this vulnerability particularly concerning in multi-user environments where privilege separation may be insufficient.
Mitigation strategies should prioritize immediate patching of affected HP Tru64 UNIX versions through official vendor security updates or hotfixes. System administrators should implement strict access controls to limit local user privileges where possible, and establish monitoring procedures to detect unusual ping utility behavior. Network segmentation and redundant diagnostic tools should be deployed to maintain operational resilience. Additionally, regular vulnerability assessments should be conducted to identify similar issues within other system utilities and applications, as this vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper input validation and error handling in critical system components. The remediation process should include thorough testing of patched versions to ensure that the fix does not introduce regressions in legitimate ping functionality while effectively addressing the denial of service condition.