CVE-2002-2264 in Secure Web Server For Tru64
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) of HP Tru64 4.0F through 5.1A allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via unknown attack vectors. NOTE: this might be the same issue as CVE-2002-2185, but there are insufficient details to be certain.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/20/2019
The vulnerability described in CVE-2002-2264 represents a critical weakness within the Internet Group Management Protocol implementation of HP Tru64 operating systems version 4.0F through 5.1A. This issue resides in the core networking protocols that govern multicast communication within IP networks, where IGMP serves as the mechanism for managing group membership and facilitating efficient multicast data distribution. The unspecified nature of the vulnerability means that while the impact is known to cause denial of service conditions, the specific technical flaw remains undocumented in publicly available sources, creating significant challenges for security professionals attempting to assess risk and implement appropriate countermeasures.
The technical flaw within HP Tru64's IGMP implementation likely stems from inadequate input validation or improper state handling within the multicast group management routines. Such vulnerabilities typically manifest when the system fails to properly validate incoming multicast packets or when the protocol state machine does not adequately handle malformed or unexpected IGMP messages. The vulnerability's classification as a denial of service issue indicates that attackers can exploit this weakness to disrupt multicast communications, potentially causing network partitions or rendering affected systems unable to participate in multicast group operations. This type of vulnerability falls under the broader category of protocol-level weaknesses that can severely impact network availability and reliability.
From an operational standpoint, this vulnerability presents a significant risk to organizations relying on HP Tru64 systems for mission-critical networking functions. The potential for remote exploitation means that attackers located outside the local network perimeter can leverage this weakness to disrupt multicast services, which may include critical applications such as video streaming, real-time data distribution, or network management protocols that depend on multicast communication. The impact extends beyond simple service disruption to potentially affecting the entire network infrastructure's ability to maintain proper multicast routing and group membership, which can cascade into broader network performance degradation or complete service outages.
The vulnerability's potential relationship to CVE-2002-2185 highlights the complexity of vulnerability assessment and classification within the cybersecurity landscape, where similar weaknesses may be reported under different identifiers due to incomplete information or varying exploitation methods. Organizations should consider implementing comprehensive network monitoring to detect anomalous IGMP traffic patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. The lack of detailed information about the specific attack vectors makes this vulnerability particularly challenging to defend against, as traditional network segmentation and access control measures may not adequately protect against protocol-level attacks. Security practitioners should consult vendor advisories and implement appropriate patches or workarounds as soon as they become available, while also considering network-level protections such as IGMP filtering or rate limiting to reduce the attack surface.
This vulnerability aligns with common attack patterns found in the ATT&CK framework under the network denial of service category, where adversaries exploit weaknesses in network protocols to disrupt services. The CWE (Common Weakness Enumeration) classification for such issues typically falls under weakness categories related to protocol implementation flaws or insufficient input validation. Organizations should prioritize this vulnerability for remediation due to its potential for remote exploitation and the critical nature of multicast services in enterprise networking environments. The absence of specific exploit details underscores the need for proactive security measures and regular vulnerability assessments to identify and address similar weaknesses in network protocol implementations.