CVE-2002-1969 in Magic Notebook
Summary
by MITRE
Magic Notebook 1.0b and 1.1b allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) via an invalid username during login.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/07/2024
The vulnerability described in CVE-2002-1969 affects Magic Notebook versions 1.0b and 1.1b, representing a classic denial of service weakness that exploits improper input validation during the authentication process. This vulnerability falls under the category of improper input validation as classified by CWE-20, which is a fundamental security flaw that occurs when applications fail to properly validate or sanitize user input before processing it. The specific flaw manifests when the application receives an invalid username during login attempts, causing the software to crash and become unavailable to legitimate users.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the application's failure to handle malformed or unexpected username inputs gracefully. When a remote attacker submits an invalid username, the Magic Notebook application does not implement proper error handling mechanisms to manage such inputs. Instead, the application crashes or terminates unexpectedly, resulting in a denial of service condition that prevents legitimate users from accessing the system. This type of vulnerability represents a failure in the application's robustness and resilience against malicious input, which is particularly concerning in networked environments where remote attackers can exploit this weakness without requiring authentication.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption, as it represents a potential vector for broader attacks that could compromise system availability. From an attacker's perspective, this vulnerability provides an easy means to disrupt service without requiring advanced technical skills or privileged access. The attack surface is particularly broad since the vulnerability affects the login process, which is a fundamental component of any authentication system. This weakness can be exploited by anyone with network access to the affected system, making it a significant concern for organizations that rely on Magic Notebook for their operations.
From a cybersecurity framework perspective, this vulnerability aligns with several ATT&CK techniques including T1499.004 for network denial of service and T1070.004 for indicator removal. The flaw demonstrates poor defensive programming practices that violate fundamental security principles of input sanitization and error handling. Organizations should implement proper input validation mechanisms that can gracefully handle malformed inputs without causing application crashes. The recommended mitigations include implementing comprehensive input validation, adding proper error handling routines, and ensuring that the application can recover from malformed inputs without terminating unexpectedly. Additionally, network segmentation and access controls can help limit the impact of such vulnerabilities by restricting unauthorized access to the affected systems and reducing the attack surface available to potential adversaries.