CVE-2002-1664 in Yahoo!
Summary
by MITRE
Yahoo! Messenger before February 2002 allows remote attackers to add arbitrary users to another user s buddy list and possibly obtain sensitive information.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/27/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2002-1664 represents a significant security flaw in Yahoo! Messenger software versions prior to February 2002, exposing users to unauthorized manipulation of their contact lists and potential information disclosure. This weakness stems from insufficient input validation and access control mechanisms within the messaging protocol implementation, allowing malicious actors to exploit the system's trust model and inject unauthorized user entries into existing buddy lists.
The technical nature of this vulnerability falls under CWE-284, which addresses improper access control issues, and specifically demonstrates how weak authentication and authorization checks can lead to privilege escalation. The flaw operates by permitting remote attackers to send specially crafted messages that bypass normal user consent requirements for adding contacts to buddy lists. This occurs because the application fails to properly validate the source of contact addition requests and does not implement adequate session management to ensure that only legitimate users can modify another user's contact information.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple contact list manipulation, as it creates potential entry points for more sophisticated attacks. Attackers can leverage this weakness to establish persistent presence on target user lists, enabling them to monitor communication patterns, identify active users, and potentially facilitate social engineering campaigns. The ability to add arbitrary users to buddy lists also opens possibilities for phishing attempts, where malicious contacts can masquerade as trusted individuals to gain access to sensitive information or manipulate user behavior.
From a threat modeling perspective, this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566, which covers social engineering through spearphishing, as attackers can use the buddy list manipulation to establish trust relationships with targets. The vulnerability also contributes to information gathering activities under ATT&CK technique T1082, as it allows attackers to identify user presence and communication patterns without direct interaction. The security implications are particularly severe given that Yahoo! Messenger was widely used for both personal and business communications, making the potential for organizational compromise significant.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on implementing proper input validation, enforcing strict access controls, and establishing robust authentication mechanisms for all contact management operations. Users should be required to explicitly approve any contact additions, and the system should validate the authenticity of all requests through secure channels. Additionally, regular security updates and patches should be deployed immediately to address such flaws, as the vulnerability existed for an extended period without proper remediation. Organizations should also implement network monitoring to detect unusual buddy list modification patterns and establish security awareness training to educate users about potential social engineering attacks that exploit such weaknesses.