CVE-2003-1092 in File
Summary
by MITRE
Unknown vulnerability in the "Automatic File Content Type Recognition (AFCTR) Tool version of the file package before 3.41, related to "a memory allocation problem," has unknown impact.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/18/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2003-1092 resides within the Automatic File Content Type Recognition AFCTR tool component of a file package system prior to version 3.41. This memory allocation problem represents a critical flaw in how the system handles file content type recognition processes, particularly when processing various file formats and their associated metadata. The AFCTR tool serves as an automated mechanism for identifying file types based on their content characteristics, which is fundamental to proper system operation and security posture. The vulnerability manifests during the memory management phase of file processing, where improper allocation or deallocation of memory resources occurs.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with common memory corruption issues classified under CWE-122, which deals with insufficient memory allocation, and CWE-125, which addresses out-of-bounds read conditions. When the AFCTR tool encounters certain file formats or malformed content, the memory allocation routines fail to properly manage the resources required for content type recognition. This can lead to buffer overflows, memory corruption, or other heap-based vulnerabilities that may be exploitable by malicious actors. The vulnerability's classification as "unknown impact" suggests that the specific attack vectors and consequences were not fully understood at the time of reporting, though such memory allocation flaws typically present significant security risks.
From an operational standpoint, this vulnerability poses substantial risks to systems that rely on automated file type recognition for security filtering, content analysis, or file handling processes. The AFCTR tool's role in identifying potentially malicious file types makes this vulnerability particularly dangerous, as it could allow attackers to bypass security measures or cause system instability through controlled memory corruption. The memory allocation problem could potentially be triggered through various file formats, making the attack surface broad and difficult to predict. Systems that process large volumes of files or those that automatically scan incoming content for threats would be most vulnerable to exploitation of this weakness.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2003-1092 should focus on immediate software updates to version 3.41 or later, which would contain the fixed memory allocation routines. Organizations should also implement additional defensive measures such as input validation for all file processing operations, sandboxing of file analysis components, and monitoring for anomalous memory usage patterns. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper memory management in security-critical applications and aligns with ATT&CK techniques related to privilege escalation and resource exhaustion attacks. Network administrators should consider implementing file type restrictions and content filtering rules to limit exposure while awaiting patch deployment. Regular security assessments of file processing components and memory management routines should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other system components that may present analogous risks.