CVE-2003-0327 in Adaptive Server Enterprise
Summary
by MITRE
Sybase Adaptive Server Enterprise (ASE) 12.5 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (hang) via a remote password array with an invalid length, which triggers a heap-based buffer overflow.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/04/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2003-0327 affects Sybase Adaptive Server Enterprise version 12.5, a widely deployed enterprise relational database management system that serves critical business applications across numerous organizations. This vulnerability represents a significant security flaw that can be exploited remotely to disrupt database services, potentially causing substantial operational downtime and business disruption. The flaw specifically manifests when the database server processes authentication requests containing malformed password arrays with invalid length parameters, creating a condition that can be leveraged by malicious actors to compromise system availability.
The technical mechanism underlying this vulnerability involves a heap-based buffer overflow that occurs during the processing of authentication credentials. When a remote attacker submits a password array with an invalid length parameter, the Sybase ASE server fails to properly validate the input size before attempting to allocate memory for the buffer. This improper input validation leads to a situation where the application writes data beyond the allocated memory boundaries, causing memory corruption that can result in system instability or complete hang conditions. The vulnerability falls under the category of CWE-121, which describes heap-based buffer overflow conditions, and represents a classic example of insufficient input validation in security-critical components. The buffer overflow occurs in the authentication handling module where password data is processed and validated before database access is granted.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service, as it can potentially be leveraged to create more sophisticated attack vectors within the database environment. When the system experiences a hang condition due to the buffer overflow, legitimate users lose access to database services, which can result in cascading failures across dependent applications and business processes. Organizations relying on Sybase ASE for mission-critical operations face significant risk, as attackers can repeatedly exploit this vulnerability to maintain service disruption without requiring elevated privileges or complex attack chains. The remote nature of the exploit means that attackers do not need physical access to the system or network proximity, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where database servers may be exposed to untrusted networks.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on immediate patch application and network-level protections. Organizations should prioritize updating their Sybase ASE installations to versions that address this specific buffer overflow condition, as the vendor would have released security patches to resolve the input validation issues. Network segmentation and access control measures can provide additional defense-in-depth by limiting exposure of database servers to untrusted networks and implementing strict authentication controls. Monitoring and logging should be enhanced to detect anomalous authentication patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts, while intrusion detection systems should be configured to alert on malformed authentication requests. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of input validation and proper memory management in security-critical applications, aligning with ATT&CK technique T1499.004 for network denial of service and emphasizing the need for robust software security practices throughout the development lifecycle.