CVE-2003-0206 in gkrellm-newsticker
Summary
by MITRE
gkrellm-newsticker gkrellm plugin before 0.3-3.1 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) via (1) link or (2) title elements that contain multiple lines.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/28/2021
The vulnerability described in CVE-2003-0206 affects the gkrellm-newsticker plugin version 0.3-3.1 and earlier, representing a classic buffer overflow or improper input handling flaw that can be exploited remotely to cause a denial of service condition. This plugin is part of the gkrellm system monitoring tool suite, which provides real-time system information display on graphical desktop environments. The vulnerability specifically targets the processing of link and title elements within news ticker feeds, where malformed input containing multiple lines can trigger unexpected behavior in the plugin's parsing logic.
The technical flaw manifests when the plugin receives news feed data containing link or title elements with multiple lines of content. The parsing routine fails to properly handle line breaks or newline characters within these elements, leading to memory corruption or stack overflow conditions that ultimately result in the plugin crashing and terminating its execution. This represents a weakness in input validation and string handling, classified under CWE-121 as a buffer overflow condition that occurs when insufficient bounds checking is performed on data that is copied into fixed-length buffers. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it can be exploited remotely through malicious news feeds or RSS data sources that the plugin retrieves and processes automatically.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption, as it can affect the entire gkrellm monitoring system when the affected plugin crashes. System administrators who rely on gkrellm for real-time monitoring may experience loss of critical system information display, potentially leading to delayed detection of actual system issues. The remote exploitation capability means that attackers can trigger these crashes without requiring local access to the system, making the vulnerability particularly dangerous in environments where automated feed updates are enabled. This aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.004 for denial of service attacks, where adversaries target application stability to disrupt normal operations. The vulnerability also demonstrates poor input sanitization practices that could potentially be leveraged for more sophisticated attacks if combined with other weaknesses in the application stack.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on immediate patching of the gkrellm-newsticker plugin to version 0.3-3.1 or later, which contains the necessary input validation fixes. System administrators should implement proper feed validation and sanitization before allowing automatic updates, particularly for feeds from untrusted sources. Network-level controls such as firewall rules or proxy filtering can help prevent malicious feed data from reaching vulnerable systems. Additionally, monitoring for unusual plugin crash patterns or system instability related to news ticker functionality should be implemented as part of baseline security monitoring. The vulnerability highlights the importance of proper input validation and bounds checking in all software components, particularly those handling external data feeds, and serves as a reminder of the critical need for regular security updates in desktop monitoring applications.