CVE-2003-0149 in ePolicy Orchestrator
Summary
by MITRE
Heap-based buffer overflow in ePO agent for McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator 2.0, 2.5, and 2.5.1 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a POST request containing long parameters.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/11/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2003-0149 represents a critical heap-based buffer overflow in the ePO agent component of McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator versions 2.0, 2.5, and 2.5.1. This flaw exists within the processing of HTTP POST requests and demonstrates a classic software security weakness that has been documented under CWE-121, which specifically addresses heap-based buffer overflow conditions. The vulnerability arises when the ePO agent receives a malicious POST request containing excessively long parameters, creating a condition where memory allocated on the heap becomes overwritten beyond its designated boundaries. Such buffer overflows are particularly dangerous because they can be exploited to execute arbitrary code on the affected system, potentially allowing remote attackers to gain unauthorized access and control over the target machine.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs during the handling of network traffic by the ePO agent service, which operates as a critical component in McAfee's enterprise security management platform. When the agent processes incoming HTTP POST requests without proper input validation or bounds checking, it fails to verify the length of parameters before copying them into fixed-size buffers allocated in heap memory. This allows an attacker to craft a malicious request containing parameter values that exceed the buffer capacity, causing the overflow to overwrite adjacent memory locations including return addresses and function pointers. The exploitation process typically involves carefully crafted input that manipulates the program execution flow, potentially leading to code execution with the privileges of the ePO agent process. This vulnerability directly aligns with ATT&CK technique T1203, which describes exploitation for execution through the manipulation of program execution flow via buffer overflow conditions.
The operational impact of CVE-2003-0149 extends beyond simple remote code execution, as it represents a significant threat to enterprise security infrastructure. Organizations utilizing McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator in their security management stack face potential compromise of their entire security monitoring and enforcement capabilities when this vulnerability is exploited. The affected ePO agents typically run with elevated privileges to perform security operations, making successful exploitation particularly dangerous as it could allow attackers to gain administrative access to security monitoring systems. The vulnerability affects multiple versions of the software, indicating that it was likely present across a wide deployment base and could have been exploited by attackers targeting organizations with older versions of the McAfee security platform. Network-based attacks can be launched from anywhere on the internet without requiring authentication, making this vulnerability particularly attractive to threat actors seeking to compromise enterprise security infrastructure.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2003-0149 should prioritize immediate remediation through official vendor patches and updates from McAfee. Organizations must ensure they are running patched versions of ePolicy Orchestrator that address the heap overflow condition in the agent component. Network segmentation and access control measures can provide additional defense in depth, including restricting direct network access to ePO agent services and implementing strict firewall rules to limit communication to authorized systems only. Input validation should be enforced at multiple layers, including network-level filtering and application-level parameter validation to prevent malformed requests from reaching the vulnerable code paths. Security monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual network traffic patterns or attempts to exploit buffer overflow conditions, with particular attention to HTTP POST requests containing unusually long parameters. The vulnerability also underscores the importance of maintaining up-to-date security software and implementing proper vulnerability management processes that can quickly identify and remediate such critical flaws across enterprise environments. Organizations should also consider implementing intrusion detection systems that can recognize exploitation attempts targeting known buffer overflow patterns and provide early warning of potential compromise attempts.