CVE-2002-2118 in Lasso Web Data Engine
Summary
by MITRE
Buffer overflow in Blue World Lasso Web Data Engine 3.6.5 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via a long URL.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/28/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2002-2118 represents a classic buffer overflow condition within the Blue World Lasso Web Data Engine version 3.6.5, specifically manifesting when processing excessively long Uniform Resource Locators. This flaw resides in the web server component's input validation mechanisms, where the application fails to properly sanitize or limit the length of URL parameters before processing them. The buffer overflow occurs because the software allocates a fixed-size buffer in memory to store URL data, but does not verify that incoming URL lengths remain within predetermined boundaries, creating a condition where maliciously crafted long URLs can overwrite adjacent memory locations.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability demonstrates a fundamental weakness in software memory management and input handling practices that aligns with CWE-121, which describes stack-based buffer overflow conditions. When a remote attacker constructs a URL exceeding the allocated buffer size, the excess data overflows into adjacent memory segments, potentially corrupting program execution flow or causing the web server process to terminate unexpectedly. This behavior constitutes a denial of service attack vector where legitimate users may be unable to access the web application due to the server crashing or becoming unresponsive.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption to potentially compromise the overall system stability and availability of web applications hosted on affected servers. Attackers can exploit this weakness without requiring authentication or specialized privileges, making it particularly dangerous in production environments where continuous availability is critical. The vulnerability affects the web data engine's ability to handle concurrent requests properly, as the buffer overflow can cause cascading failures that impact multiple users simultaneously. Network administrators face the challenge of maintaining service availability while addressing this memory corruption issue that can be triggered through simple HTTP GET requests containing oversized URL parameters.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2002-2118 should prioritize immediate patching of the Blue World Lasso Web Data Engine to version 3.6.6 or later, which contains the necessary input validation fixes. Organizations should implement URL length restrictions at the network perimeter using web application firewalls or reverse proxies to prevent excessively long URLs from reaching the vulnerable application. Additionally, application-level input sanitization should be enhanced to validate URL parameter lengths before processing, following secure coding practices that align with the ATT&CK framework's mitigation recommendations for input validation and memory safety. System monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual patterns of service disruptions that may indicate exploitation attempts, while regular security assessments should verify that similar buffer overflow vulnerabilities do not exist in other components of the web infrastructure.