CVE-2004-0716 in HP-UX
Summary
by MITRE
Buffer overflow in the DCE daemon (DCED) for the DCE endpoint mapper (epmap) on HP-UX 11 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a request with a small fragment length and a large amount of data.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/24/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2004-0716 represents a critical buffer overflow flaw within the Distributed Computing Environment (DCE) daemon component of HP-UX 11 operating systems. This issue specifically affects the DCE endpoint mapper service known as epmap which serves as a crucial registry for DCE services and their network addresses. The vulnerability manifests when the DCED daemon processes incoming requests through the epmap service, creating an exploitable condition that can be leveraged by remote attackers to gain unauthorized system control.
The technical implementation of this buffer overflow occurs due to inadequate input validation within the DCE daemon's handling of network requests. Attackers can craft malicious packets containing a small fragment length field while simultaneously including a large amount of data payload. This discrepancy between the declared fragment size and actual data volume causes the daemon to write beyond the allocated buffer boundaries in memory. The flaw stems from the daemon's failure to properly validate the relationship between the fragment length parameter and the actual data being processed, allowing attackers to overflow the intended buffer space and potentially overwrite adjacent memory structures including return addresses and control data.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple system compromise as it provides attackers with a pathway to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the DCE daemon process. Given that DCE services often run with elevated privileges to facilitate distributed computing operations, successful exploitation could result in complete system takeover. The remote nature of the attack means that adversaries need not have physical access to the target system, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous in networked environments where DCE services are exposed to external networks. This type of vulnerability directly aligns with CWE-121, which categorizes buffer overflow conditions that occur when insufficient space is allocated for data, and can be mapped to ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for command and script interpreter usage, as the successful exploitation would likely involve executing malicious code through the compromised service.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2004-0716 should prioritize immediate patching of affected HP-UX systems through official security updates provided by Hewlett-Packard. Organizations should also implement network segmentation to restrict access to DCE services to only trusted internal networks and establish firewall rules to block unnecessary DCE endpoint mapper ports from external access. Additional protective measures include monitoring network traffic for anomalous patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts, implementing intrusion detection systems with signatures specific to this vulnerability, and conducting regular security assessments to identify any remaining instances of the vulnerable DCE daemon service. System administrators should also consider disabling DCE services entirely if they are not required for business operations, as this represents the most effective defense against exploitation of this particular vulnerability.