CVE-2003-0759 in DB2 Universal Database
Summary
by MITRE
Buffer overflow in db2licm in IBM DB2 Universal Data Base 7.2 before Fixpak 10a allows local users to gain root privileges via a long command line argument.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/29/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2003-0759 represents a critical buffer overflow flaw within the IBM DB2 Universal Database 7.2 licensing management utility known as db2licm. This issue affects systems running the specific version of DB2 before the release of Fixpak 10a, creating a significant security risk for organizations utilizing this database platform. The vulnerability resides in the command line argument processing mechanism of the db2licm utility, which fails to properly validate input length before copying data into fixed-size buffers. The flaw enables local attackers with existing system access to exploit this weakness and escalate their privileges to the root level, potentially compromising the entire database server infrastructure. This type of vulnerability falls under the category of CWE-121, which specifically addresses stack-based buffer overflow conditions where insufficient bounds checking allows attackers to overwrite adjacent memory locations.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs when a local user provides an excessively long command line argument to the db2licm utility. The utility's implementation does not perform adequate input validation or length checking before copying the argument data into a predetermined buffer size. This allows the attacker to overflow the buffer and overwrite adjacent memory regions, including potentially the return address or other critical control data structures. When the program attempts to return from the function containing the vulnerable code, it executes code from the attacker-controlled memory region, effectively allowing privilege escalation to root. The attack vector is local in nature, requiring the attacker to already possess some level of system access, but the impact is severe as it provides complete system compromise. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1068 which describes 'Exploitation for Privilege Escalation' and specifically targets the execution of malicious code through buffer overflow mechanisms.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as successful exploitation can lead to complete system compromise and data theft. Organizations running affected versions of DB2 Universal Database face significant risk since the vulnerability allows attackers to gain root access without requiring additional authentication mechanisms. The local nature of the attack means that even if the database server is properly secured against external attacks, internal threats can still exploit this weakness to gain complete system control. This vulnerability particularly affects database administrators and system users who might execute administrative commands with elevated privileges, creating an attack surface where legitimate users can be compromised. The risk is amplified because the exploitation requires minimal privileges to begin with, as the db2licm utility is typically accessible to users with database administration rights. Organizations should note that this vulnerability represents a fundamental flaw in the software's input handling mechanisms and requires immediate remediation through proper patching procedures.
The mitigation strategy for CVE-2003-0759 centers exclusively on applying the appropriate IBM Fixpak 10a update or higher, which addresses the buffer overflow condition in the db2licm utility. System administrators should immediately implement this patch across all affected systems and verify that the update has been successfully applied. Additional security measures include implementing proper access controls to limit who can execute the db2licm utility and monitoring system logs for unusual command line argument patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. Organizations should also consider implementing privilege separation techniques and regularly reviewing user access permissions to minimize the potential impact of such vulnerabilities. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of input validation in security-critical applications and highlights the necessity of regular security updates and patches for enterprise database systems. Security teams should conduct vulnerability assessments to identify other potentially affected components and ensure that all database management utilities are properly patched against similar buffer overflow conditions.