CVE-2002-2079 in Mosix
Summary
by MITRE
mosix-protocol-stack in Multicomputer Operating System for UnIX (MOSIX) 1.5.7 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via malformed packets.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/08/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2002-2079 affects the mosix-protocol-stack within the Multicomputer Operating System for Unix commonly known as MOSIX version 1.5.7. This distributed computing system enables multiple computers to function as a single unified system, facilitating resource sharing and load distribution across multiple nodes. The mosix-protocol-stack serves as the communication layer that manages data exchange between these distributed nodes, making it a critical component for system stability and operation. When remote attackers send malformed packets to this protocol stack, the system fails to properly handle these invalid inputs, leading to a denial of service condition that disrupts normal operations across the entire MOSIX cluster.
This vulnerability represents a classic input validation flaw that falls under the CWE-129 category of Improper Validation of Array Index, though more specifically relates to protocol stack handling and buffer overflows in network communication components. The technical implementation issue stems from inadequate packet parsing mechanisms within the MOSIX protocol stack that do not properly validate incoming network data structures. When malformed packets are received, the system's failure handling mechanism triggers a crash or system hang, effectively rendering the distributed computing resources unavailable to legitimate users and applications. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it requires no authentication or privileged access to exploit, making it accessible to any remote attacker with network connectivity to the affected system.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption to encompass broader system reliability and availability concerns within distributed computing environments. In enterprise settings where MOSIX clusters manage critical workloads, such a vulnerability could result in significant business disruption, data processing delays, and potential financial losses. The attack vector through network-based packet injection means that adversaries can exploit this weakness from anywhere on the internet without requiring physical access or insider knowledge. This characteristic places the vulnerability in the ATT&CK framework under the T1498 category of Network Denial of Service, specifically targeting network infrastructure components. Organizations running MOSIX 1.5.7 systems face the risk of sustained service interruptions that can last from minutes to hours depending on system recovery mechanisms and manual intervention requirements.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2002-2079 should include immediate deployment of patches provided by the MOSIX development team or vendor, as well as network-level protections such as firewall rules that restrict access to the affected protocol ports. System administrators should implement network monitoring solutions to detect unusual packet patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts, and establish robust backup and recovery procedures to minimize downtime during incident response. The vulnerability highlights the importance of proper input validation and error handling in distributed systems, particularly those handling network communications. Organizations should also consider implementing network segmentation to isolate critical MOSIX components and reduce the potential blast radius of such attacks. Additionally, regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning of distributed computing environments are essential to identify similar weaknesses in other system components that might present analogous attack surfaces.