CVE-2003-0357 in Ethereal
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple integer overflow vulnerabilities in Ethereal 0.9.11 and earlier allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service and possibly execute arbitrary code via the (1) Mount and (2) PPP dissectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/15/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2003-0357 represents a critical security flaw affecting Ethereal network protocol analyzer version 0.9.11 and earlier releases. This issue stems from integer overflow conditions that occur within the software's packet dissection mechanisms, specifically impacting the Mount and PPP dissectors. The vulnerability classifies under CWE-190 as an integer overflow, which is a well-documented weakness in software development that can lead to severe security implications when exploited by malicious actors.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the manipulation of packet data structures during network traffic analysis. When Ethereal processes network packets containing specially crafted data within the Mount and PPP protocols, the software fails to properly validate integer values, leading to overflow conditions. These overflow scenarios can cause the application to behave unpredictably, potentially resulting in memory corruption that may allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on the target system. The vulnerability's impact is particularly concerning because it can be triggered through network traffic without requiring any authentication or privileged access.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents a significant risk to network security monitoring systems that rely on Ethereal for packet analysis. Attackers can exploit this flaw by sending maliciously formatted packets to a system running the vulnerable software, causing the application to crash or potentially execute unintended code. The denial of service aspect means that legitimate network monitoring activities could be disrupted, while the arbitrary code execution capability could enable attackers to gain unauthorized access to systems. This vulnerability particularly affects environments where network traffic analysis is critical for security monitoring and incident response operations.
The exploitation of CVE-2003-0357 aligns with several ATT&CK tactics including privilege escalation and denial of service, as the vulnerability can be leveraged to disrupt network monitoring capabilities and potentially gain system access. Organizations using affected versions of Ethereal should prioritize immediate remediation through software updates to version 0.10.0 or later, which contain patches addressing these integer overflow conditions. Additionally, network administrators should implement proper input validation and monitoring procedures to detect and prevent exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of regular software updates and proper security testing in network security tools to prevent exploitation of fundamental programming errors that can compromise entire network monitoring infrastructures.