CVE-2003-0989 in Mac OS X
Summary
by MITRE
tcpdump before 3.8.1 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (infinite loop) via certain ISAKMP packets, a different vulnerability than CVE-2004-0057.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/19/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2003-0989 affects tcpdump versions prior to 3.8.1 and represents a significant denial of service weakness that can be exploited remotely through specially crafted ISAKMP packets. This flaw specifically targets the packet parsing functionality of tcpdump, which is widely used for network traffic analysis and monitoring across various operating systems and network security environments. The vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and error handling within the ISAKMP packet processing module, creating a condition where malformed packets can trigger unexpected behavior in the network analysis tool.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves a specific parsing error in how tcpdump handles certain ISAKMP (Internet Security Association and Key Management Protocol) packets that contain malformed or unexpected data structures. When tcpdump encounters these specially crafted packets during network monitoring, the parser enters an infinite loop due to missing boundary checks and proper state management in the packet analysis routines. This infinite loop consumes excessive CPU resources and effectively renders the tcpdump process unresponsive, preventing it from processing legitimate network traffic. The vulnerability is distinct from CVE-2004-0057, which addresses different aspects of tcpdump's ISAKMP handling, making CVE-2003-0989 a separate but equally critical issue that impacts network monitoring capabilities.
From an operational standpoint, this vulnerability poses a substantial risk to network security infrastructure that relies on tcpdump for traffic analysis and monitoring. An attacker can exploit this weakness to disrupt network monitoring services, potentially masking malicious activities or causing network administrators to lose visibility into their network traffic. The remote nature of the attack means that systems running vulnerable versions of tcpdump can be compromised from outside the network perimeter, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous for organizations that deploy tcpdump on network monitoring systems, firewalls, or intrusion detection systems. The infinite loop condition can persist until the system is manually restarted or the tcpdump process is terminated, creating extended periods of network visibility loss.
The impact of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-835, which addresses infinite loops in software implementations, and can be mapped to ATT&CK technique T1498.001, which covers network denial of service attacks. Organizations should immediately update their tcpdump installations to version 3.8.1 or later to remediate this vulnerability, as the fix typically involves implementing proper input validation and boundary checking in the ISAKMP packet parsing logic. Additionally, network administrators should consider implementing network segmentation and monitoring to detect unusual CPU usage patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of regular security updates and proper input validation in network security tools, as even widely used utilities like tcpdump can contain critical flaws that impact overall network security posture and availability.