CVE-2003-1158 in Web Server
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple buffer overflows in the FTP service in Plug and Play Web Server 1.0002c allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) via long (1) dir, (2) ls, (3) delete, (4) mkdir, (5) DELE, (6) RMD, or (7) MKD commands.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/02/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2003-1158 represents a critical security flaw in the Plug and Play Web Server version 1.0002c FTP service implementation. This issue manifests as multiple buffer overflow conditions that occur when processing specific FTP commands, making it a significant target for remote exploitation. The affected server operates under the Plug and Play Web Server framework, which was designed to provide automated network configuration capabilities but inadvertently introduced severe memory management vulnerabilities. These buffer overflows specifically impact the server's handling of directory and file manipulation commands, creating opportunities for attackers to disrupt service availability through carefully crafted malicious inputs.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and memory boundary checking within the FTP service component of the web server. When remote attackers submit excessively long arguments to commands such as dir, ls, delete, mkdir, DELE, RMD, or MKD, the server fails to properly validate the input length before processing. This lack of proper bounds checking allows attackers to overwrite adjacent memory locations, potentially causing the application to crash or behave unpredictably. The buffer overflow conditions occur in the server's command parsing logic where fixed-size buffers are used to store command arguments without adequate size verification. This flaw aligns with CWE-121, which describes stack-based buffer overflow conditions, and CWE-122, which covers heap-based buffer overflow scenarios. The vulnerability demonstrates poor defensive programming practices and highlights the importance of implementing robust input sanitization mechanisms.
The operational impact of CVE-2003-1158 extends beyond simple service disruption to potentially enable more sophisticated attack vectors. While the primary effect is a denial of service condition that crashes the FTP service, the underlying memory corruption could theoretically be exploited to execute arbitrary code on the affected system. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to systematically crash the FTP service, making the server unavailable to legitimate users and potentially disrupting business operations. The vulnerability affects the core FTP functionality of the Plug and Play Web Server, which means that any service relying on these commands for file management operations would be compromised. This type of attack could be particularly damaging in environments where the FTP service provides critical file transfer capabilities, as it directly impacts the availability of network resources and could be used as part of broader network disruption campaigns.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on immediate patching and configuration hardening measures. System administrators must prioritize updating to patched versions of the Plug and Play Web Server software that address the buffer overflow conditions in the FTP service. Until patches are applied, network segmentation and access control measures should be implemented to limit exposure to trusted networks only. The implementation of proper input validation and length checking mechanisms within the FTP service should be enforced to prevent malicious command arguments from being processed. Additionally, monitoring and logging should be enhanced to detect suspicious FTP command sequences that may indicate exploitation attempts. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1499.004, which covers network disruption attacks, and T1071.004, which addresses application layer protocol usage. Organizations should also consider implementing intrusion detection systems that can identify patterns associated with buffer overflow exploitation attempts and establish incident response procedures to quickly address potential exploitation events.