CVE-2004-1004 in Midnight Commander
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple format string vulnerabilities in Midnight Commander (mc) 4.5.55 and earlier allow remote attackers to have an unknown impact.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/05/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2004-1004 represents a critical security flaw affecting Midnight Commander version 4.5.55 and earlier releases. This file manager application, widely used in Unix-like operating systems for its graphical interface and command-line capabilities, was found to contain multiple format string vulnerabilities that could be exploited by remote attackers. The nature of these vulnerabilities stems from improper handling of user-supplied input within format string functions, creating opportunities for malicious actors to manipulate program execution flow and potentially gain unauthorized access to system resources.
Format string vulnerabilities occur when an application uses user-provided data as format specifiers in functions like printf, sprintf, or fprintf without proper validation or sanitization. In the context of Midnight Commander, these flaws likely existed in areas where the application processes file names, directory listings, or user input displayed in the interface. When attackers could control the format string parameters, they could potentially trigger buffer overflows, information disclosure, or arbitrary code execution depending on how the vulnerable functions were implemented within the mc codebase. The vulnerability's classification as having "unknown impact" suggests that the specific consequences were not fully understood at the time of disclosure, indicating the severity and potential for exploitation across multiple attack vectors.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation or denial of service scenarios. Attackers could exploit these format string flaws to extract sensitive memory contents, manipulate program behavior, or even execute arbitrary commands on systems running vulnerable versions of Midnight Commander. Given that mc was commonly used in multi-user environments and system administration tasks, the potential for unauthorized access to system resources, file corruption, or data exfiltration was significant. The remote nature of the attack vector meant that exploitation could occur without requiring local system access, making the vulnerability particularly dangerous in networked environments where mc might be used for remote file operations or accessed through network shares.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2004-1004 primarily focused on upgrading to patched versions of Midnight Commander, with version 4.5.56 and later releases containing the necessary fixes. System administrators should have implemented immediate patch management procedures to address this vulnerability across all affected systems. Additional protective measures included implementing network segmentation to limit access to systems running mc, monitoring for suspicious network activity related to file operations, and ensuring that users had appropriate privileges to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive system resources. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-134 which specifically addresses the use of format strings inappropriately, and could potentially map to ATT&CK techniques involving privilege escalation and command execution through application-specific vulnerabilities. Organizations should have conducted thorough vulnerability assessments to identify all instances of the vulnerable mc versions and ensured that proper security controls were in place to prevent exploitation of this and similar format string vulnerabilities in their environments.