CVE-2004-0823 in OpenLDAP
Summary
by MITRE
OpenLDAP 1.0 through 2.1.19, as used in Apple Mac OS 10.3.4 and 10.3.5 and possibly other operating systems, may allow certain authentication schemes to use hashed (crypt) passwords in the userPassword attribute as if they were plaintext passwords, which allows remote attackers to re-use hashed passwords without decrypting them.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/19/2019
The vulnerability described in CVE-2004-0823 represents a critical security flaw in OpenLDAP implementations that affected Apple Mac OS 10.3.4 and 10.3.5 systems. This issue stems from improper handling of password authentication mechanisms within the directory service infrastructure, specifically when processing hashed passwords stored in the userPassword attribute. The flaw allows attackers to exploit the system's authentication scheme processing to reuse hashed passwords directly without requiring decryption or reverse engineering of the cryptographic hashes. This vulnerability operates at the intersection of identity management and authentication security, where the expected behavior of password verification is subverted by the system's failure to properly validate the password format during authentication processes.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in the insufficient validation of password attribute formats within the OpenLDAP implementation. When authentication schemes are processed, the system fails to distinguish between plaintext passwords and crypt-hashed passwords stored in the userPassword attribute. This misconfiguration allows attackers to submit pre-computed hashed passwords directly to the authentication service, bypassing the normal password verification procedures that would typically require either plaintext input or proper hash verification. The vulnerability specifically affects versions 1.0 through 2.1.19 of OpenLDAP, which were widely deployed in enterprise environments and operating systems, making the impact particularly severe. The flaw demonstrates a classic case of improper input validation and authentication flow handling, which aligns with CWE-284 access control weaknesses and CWE-310 cryptographic issues.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple authentication bypass to potentially enable unauthorized access to directory services and user accounts across affected systems. Attackers can leverage this weakness to gain unauthorized access to systems that rely on OpenLDAP for user authentication, particularly in environments where hashed passwords are stored for security reasons. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it allows attackers to reuse existing password hashes without needing to perform computationally expensive decryption operations, effectively neutralizing the security benefits of password hashing. This weakness can be exploited remotely, making it a significant threat to network security and potentially enabling broader compromise of systems that depend on LDAP authentication services. The impact is exacerbated by the fact that this vulnerability affects widely deployed operating systems and directory services implementations.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2004-0823 should focus on immediate system updates and configuration hardening to prevent exploitation. Organizations should upgrade to patched versions of OpenLDAP that properly validate password attribute formats and implement correct authentication scheme handling. System administrators should review and enforce proper password policy configurations that prevent the storage of both plaintext and hashed passwords in the same attribute without proper validation. Security measures should include monitoring for unauthorized authentication attempts and implementing additional authentication layers such as multi-factor authentication to reduce the impact of credential compromise. The vulnerability highlights the importance of proper authentication flow design and the necessity of validating input formats at multiple layers of the authentication process. Organizations should also consider implementing network segmentation and access controls to limit the potential impact of successful exploitation attempts. This vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical importance of proper cryptographic implementation and authentication protocol design in identity management systems, aligning with ATT&CK techniques related to credential access and privilege escalation.