CVE-2003-0773 in SANE
Summary
by MITRE
saned in sane-backends 1.0.7 and earlier does not check the IP address of the connecting host during the SANE_NET_INIT RPC call, which allows remote attackers to use that call even if they are restricted in saned.conf.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/12/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2003-0773 affects the saned daemon component within the sane-backends package version 1.0.7 and earlier. This issue resides in the SANE Network Scanner protocol implementation where the daemon fails to validate the originating IP address during the SANE_NET_INIT Remote Procedure Call process. The saned daemon serves as the network interface for SANE (Scanner Access Now Easy) systems, enabling remote scanning operations through network connections. When a client establishes a connection to the saned service, the SANE_NET_INIT RPC call is used to initialize the network communication session between the client and the scanner server.
The technical flaw stems from the absence of IP address validation within the SANE_NET_INIT RPC call processing. This omission creates a critical security gap where remote attackers can bypass access controls that should normally restrict connections based on IP address ranges defined in the saned.conf configuration file. The saned.conf file typically contains access control lists specifying which IP addresses or networks are permitted to connect to the scanning service. However, due to the missing IP validation in the RPC call, attackers can establish connections regardless of these restrictions, effectively rendering the access control mechanisms ineffective.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant as it allows unauthorized remote access to networked scanning devices. Attackers can leverage this flaw to perform various malicious activities including unauthorized document scanning, potential data exfiltration from scanned documents, and possible exploitation of other vulnerabilities present in the scanning system. The vulnerability particularly affects environments where sensitive information is processed through networked scanners, as it undermines the fundamental network security controls designed to protect these devices from unauthorized access. This issue represents a classic case of insufficient input validation and access control enforcement, creating a pathway for privilege escalation through network-based attacks.
Security professionals should consider this vulnerability in relation to CWE-284, which addresses improper access control, and CWE-250, which deals with execution of unknown code. The vulnerability also aligns with ATT&CK technique T1046, which involves network service scanning, and T1059, which covers command and script injection. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including updating to sane-backends versions 1.0.8 or later where this vulnerability has been addressed, properly configuring access controls in saned.conf, and implementing network segmentation to limit access to scanning services. Additional protective measures include deploying network monitoring tools to detect unusual scanning activities, implementing firewall rules to restrict access to the saned service ports, and conducting regular security assessments of networked scanning infrastructure to identify similar access control weaknesses.