CVE-2003-1163 in gmond
Summary
by MITRE
hash.c in Ganglia gmond 2.5.3 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (segmentation fault) via a UDP packet that contains a single-byte name string, which is used as an out-of-bounds array index.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/16/2018
The vulnerability described in CVE-2003-1163 represents a critical buffer overflow condition within the Ganglia gmond monitoring daemon version 2.5.3. This issue specifically affects the hash.c component which handles hash table operations for metric data processing. The flaw manifests when gmond receives a specially crafted UDP packet containing a single-byte name string that is subsequently used as an array index, creating a scenario where memory access occurs beyond the bounds of allocated arrays. This type of vulnerability falls under the category of improper input validation and memory management errors that have been consistently categorized by CWE-129 as "Improper Validation of Array Index" and CWE-787 as "Out-of-Bounds Write."
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability requires an attacker to send a malformed UDP packet to the gmond daemon listening on its default port 8649. When the daemon processes this packet, the single-byte name string is interpreted as an array index without proper bounds checking, causing the program to attempt accessing memory locations outside the legitimate array boundaries. This results in a segmentation fault that crashes the gmond process, effectively causing a denial of service condition that disrupts system monitoring capabilities. The attack vector is particularly concerning because it operates over UDP, making it difficult to detect and trace compared to TCP-based attacks, and the simplicity of the payload means that even basic network scanning tools could potentially trigger this condition.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability compromises the availability of monitoring infrastructure that relies on Ganglia for system health tracking. When gmond crashes, it stops collecting and reporting metrics to the Ganglia monitoring cluster, potentially leading to undetected system failures, performance degradation, or complete loss of monitoring visibility across affected nodes. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous in large-scale distributed environments where multiple gmond daemons coordinate to provide comprehensive monitoring coverage, as a single compromised node can trigger cascading failures throughout the monitoring infrastructure. Organizations implementing the ATT&CK framework would categorize this as a Denial of Service attack with potential for system compromise through monitoring disruption.
The mitigation strategies for this vulnerability involve immediate patching of the gmond daemon to version 2.5.4 or later, which includes proper bounds checking for array index operations. Additionally, network administrators should implement firewall rules to restrict UDP traffic to gmond ports from trusted sources only, reducing the attack surface. System hardening measures including disabling unnecessary services, implementing proper input validation, and deploying intrusion detection systems can further reduce the risk. Organizations should also consider implementing monitoring for unusual gmond process restart patterns and establish incident response procedures for handling such denial of service conditions. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of input validation in network services and aligns with security best practices outlined in NIST SP 800-53 for access control and system monitoring requirements.