CVE-2003-1012 in Ethereal
Summary
by MITRE
The SMB dissector in Ethereal before 0.10.0 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via a malformed SMB packet that triggers a segmentation fault during processing of Selected packets.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/05/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2003-1012 represents a critical denial of service flaw within the SMB dissector component of Ethereal network protocol analyzer version 0.10.0 and earlier. This issue stems from inadequate input validation and error handling mechanisms within the packet processing logic, specifically when handling malformed SMB (Server Message Block) protocol packets. The vulnerability operates at the network protocol level, affecting the application's ability to properly parse and analyze SMB traffic, which is commonly used for file sharing and network communication in windows environments.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs when Ethereal encounters a specially crafted malformed SMB packet that contains invalid or unexpected data structures within the protocol headers or payload sections. During the packet processing phase, the dissector fails to properly validate the packet contents before attempting to parse them, leading to a segmentation fault that causes the application to crash and terminate unexpectedly. This segmentation fault represents a classic buffer overflow or memory corruption scenario where the application attempts to access memory locations that are either invalid or unauthorized, resulting in the abrupt termination of the network analysis process.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability creates significant risk for network administrators and security professionals who rely on Ethereal for network monitoring and analysis. Attackers can exploit this weakness by simply sending a malformed SMB packet to a system running the vulnerable Ethereal version, causing the application to crash and potentially interrupting ongoing network monitoring activities. The impact extends beyond simple service disruption, as it can interfere with critical network security operations that depend on continuous protocol analysis and traffic inspection. This vulnerability directly violates the principle of robustness in network security tools, where applications should gracefully handle malformed input rather than crashing.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-125, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions, and CWE-248, which covers exposed exception handling. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this represents a denial of service attack technique that can be categorized under T1499.004 for network denial of service, potentially enabling adversaries to disrupt network monitoring capabilities and compromise security operations. The flaw demonstrates poor defensive programming practices where the application lacks proper input sanitization and exception handling mechanisms, making it susceptible to exploitation by attackers who understand the network protocol structures.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability involve immediate upgrading to Ethereal version 0.10.0 or later, where the SMB dissector has been patched to properly handle malformed packets and prevent segmentation faults. Network administrators should also implement additional defensive measures including network segmentation, firewall rules that limit SMB traffic, and monitoring for unusual packet patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. The patch for this vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper input validation and defensive programming in network security tools, as it required modifications to the packet parsing logic to ensure that malformed SMB packets are either properly handled or safely rejected without causing application crashes. Organizations should also consider implementing redundant monitoring solutions to maintain network visibility even when primary tools experience temporary disruptions due to such vulnerabilities.