CVE-2004-0810 in Timbuktu Pro Mac
Summary
by MITRE
Buffer overflow in Netopia Timbuktu 7.0.3 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (server process crash) via a certain data string that is sent to multiple simultaneous client connections to TCP port 407.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/25/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2004-0810 represents a critical buffer overflow flaw within Netopia Timbuktu version 7.0.3, a remote desktop and file transfer software widely used for network administration and system management. This vulnerability resides in the application's handling of incoming data streams on TCP port 407, which serves as the primary communication channel for Timbuktu client-server interactions. The flaw manifests when the software receives a specially crafted data string through multiple simultaneous client connections, leading to unpredictable behavior in the server process.
The technical implementation of this buffer overflow occurs due to inadequate input validation and memory management within the Timbuktu server application. When multiple client connections attempt to transmit the malicious data string simultaneously, the application fails to properly bounds-check the incoming data before copying it into fixed-size memory buffers. This fundamental programming error allows attackers to overwrite adjacent memory locations, potentially corrupting critical program data structures and execution pointers. The vulnerability specifically targets the server's handling of concurrent connections, making it particularly dangerous in multi-user environments where multiple simultaneous sessions are common.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability creates a significant denial of service condition that can completely disrupt network administration capabilities. When exploited, the buffer overflow causes the Timbuktu server process to crash and terminate unexpectedly, forcing administrators to manually restart the service and potentially losing ongoing sessions. The remote nature of the attack means that unauthorized parties can exploit this vulnerability from anywhere on the network without requiring local access or authentication credentials. This makes the vulnerability particularly attractive to attackers seeking to disrupt business operations or gain unauthorized access to network resources through service disruption.
The exploitability of CVE-2004-0810 aligns with common attack patterns documented in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the service stop and denial of service techniques, where adversaries target critical infrastructure components to create operational disruptions. This vulnerability also maps to CWE-121, which describes stack-based buffer overflow conditions, and CWE-122, which addresses heap-based buffer overflow scenarios. Organizations using Netopia Timbuktu 7.0.3 should implement immediate mitigations including network segmentation to isolate the vulnerable service, firewall rules to restrict access to TCP port 407, and application-level monitoring to detect unusual connection patterns. The most effective long-term solution involves upgrading to patched versions of the Timbuktu software or migrating to more modern remote access solutions with better memory safety mechanisms. Additionally, network administrators should consider implementing intrusion detection systems that can identify and alert on suspicious data patterns attempting to exploit this specific buffer overflow vulnerability.