CVE-2003-0145 in tcpdump
Summary
by MITRE
Unknown vulnerability in tcpdump before 3.7.2 related to an inability to "Handle unknown RADIUS attributes properly," allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (infinite loop), a different vulnerability than CAN-2003-0093.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/28/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2003-0145 represents a significant flaw in the tcpdump network packet analysis tool that existed prior to version 3.7.2. This issue specifically relates to the improper handling of RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service) attributes within network traffic captures, creating a potential avenue for denial of service attacks. The vulnerability manifests when tcpdump encounters unknown RADIUS attributes in captured packets, leading to unpredictable behavior that can severely impact network monitoring operations.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in the insufficient input validation and error handling mechanisms within tcpdump's RADIUS attribute processing code. When the tool encounters RADIUS attributes that it does not recognize or support, the parsing logic fails to properly terminate or handle these unknown elements, resulting in an infinite loop condition. This occurs because the software's state machine or parsing routine becomes trapped in a continuous iteration when processing malformed or unrecognized attribute data structures, causing the application to consume excessive CPU resources and effectively become unresponsive.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents a serious threat to network infrastructure security and availability. Network administrators who rely on tcpdump for monitoring and analysis may find their monitoring tools rendered ineffective when encountering maliciously crafted RADIUS traffic. The infinite loop condition not only consumes system resources but can also prevent legitimate network traffic analysis from occurring, creating a cascading effect that impacts overall network visibility and security monitoring capabilities. This makes the vulnerability particularly dangerous in environments where continuous network monitoring is critical for detecting and responding to security incidents.
The impact of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-121, which addresses buffer overflow conditions, and relates to the broader category of improper input validation issues that can lead to denial of service conditions. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving service disruption and resource exhaustion, potentially enabling adversaries to perform network reconnaissance or denial of service attacks against monitoring infrastructure. The vulnerability's classification as a denial of service issue means that attackers can exploit it to disrupt network monitoring operations, potentially masking other malicious activities or preventing security teams from detecting ongoing attacks.
Organizations should immediately update their tcpdump installations to version 3.7.2 or later, where this vulnerability has been addressed through improved input validation and error handling for RADIUS attribute processing. System administrators should also consider implementing network segmentation and access controls to limit exposure to potentially malicious RADIUS traffic. Additionally, monitoring for unusual CPU utilization patterns in network monitoring systems can help detect exploitation attempts. The fix implemented in version 3.7.2 typically involves enhanced validation routines that properly terminate processing when encountering unknown RADIUS attributes, preventing the infinite loop condition while maintaining the tool's ability to process valid RADIUS data.