CVE-2004-0789 in 2120 Network Camera
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple implementations of the DNS protocol, including (1) Poslib 1.0.2-1 and earlier as used by Posadis, (2) Axis Network products before firmware 3.13, and (3) Men & Mice Suite 2.2x before 2.2.3 and 3.5.x before 3.5.2, allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (CPU and network bandwidth consumption) by triggering a communications loop via (a) DNS query packets with localhost as a spoofed source address, or (b) a response packet that triggers a response packet.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/25/2019
The vulnerability described in CVE-2004-0789 represents a critical denial of service flaw affecting multiple DNS implementations across various network infrastructure products. This vulnerability manifests through specific packet manipulation techniques that exploit fundamental aspects of DNS communication protocols, creating conditions where legitimate network services become overwhelmed by excessive resource consumption. The affected systems include Poslib 1.0.2-1 and earlier versions used by Posadis, Axis Network products prior to firmware 3.13, and Men & Mice Suite versions 2.2x before 2.2.3 and 3.5.x before 3.5.2, demonstrating the widespread nature of this protocol-level weakness.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through two primary vectors that create communication loops within DNS systems. The first vector involves sending DNS query packets with localhost as a spoofed source address, which causes responding systems to attempt communication with themselves, creating an infinite loop of packet exchanges. The second vector involves crafting response packets that trigger additional response packets, establishing a cascading effect that consumes CPU cycles and network bandwidth continuously. These techniques leverage the inherent trust mechanisms within DNS protocols where systems automatically respond to incoming queries without sufficient validation of source addresses, particularly when dealing with localhost or loopback addresses.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption to create significant resource exhaustion conditions that can affect entire network infrastructures. Systems affected by this vulnerability experience continuous CPU utilization spikes and network bandwidth saturation as the communication loops consume resources at sustained rates. This type of denial of service attack can persist for extended periods without manual intervention, making it particularly dangerous for network infrastructure that relies heavily on DNS services for name resolution and network operations. The vulnerability effectively transforms legitimate DNS functionality into a mechanism for resource depletion, potentially affecting critical network services and user connectivity.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-400, which categorizes the issue as an Uncontrolled Resource Consumption, and relates to ATT&CK technique T1499.004 for Network Denial of Service. The attack vectors demonstrate how DNS protocol implementations can be manipulated to create resource exhaustion conditions through improper handling of source address validation. Organizations implementing affected software should prioritize immediate patching and configuration updates to prevent exploitation, while also implementing network monitoring to detect anomalous DNS traffic patterns. The vulnerability highlights the importance of proper input validation and source address verification in network protocol implementations, particularly for services that handle external communication requests. Network administrators should consider implementing rate limiting and source address filtering mechanisms as additional protective measures against similar attacks that exploit protocol-level trust assumptions.