CVE-2004-1009 in Midnight commander
Summary
by MITRE
Midnight commander (mc) 4.5.55 and earlier allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (infinite loop) via unknown attack vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/01/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2004-1009 affects midnight commander version 4.5.55 and earlier, representing a critical denial of service flaw that can be exploited remotely. This terminal-based file manager, widely used in unix-like systems for its graphical interface capabilities, contains a flaw that can lead to an infinite loop condition when processing specific input sequences. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation mechanisms within the application's processing routines, creating a scenario where maliciously crafted data can cause the program to enter an endless loop, consuming system resources and rendering the application unavailable to legitimate users.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-835, which describes the weakness of an infinite loop or infinite recursion in software implementations. The flaw manifests when the mc application processes certain file or directory names that trigger malformed input handling, causing the internal processing loop to never terminate properly. This occurs due to inadequate boundary checking and input sanitization in the file system traversal and display routines. Attackers can exploit this by creating or accessing specific file structures that cause the application to repeatedly process the same data without proper termination conditions, leading to resource exhaustion and system instability. The infinite loop typically occurs in the file listing or directory navigation functions where the application fails to properly handle edge cases in file name parsing.
From an operational standpoint, this vulnerability presents significant risks in environments where midnight commander serves as a primary file management tool, particularly in multi-user systems or server environments. The denial of service impact extends beyond individual user sessions to potentially affect system availability, especially when the application is accessed through network services or shared terminals. The vulnerability can be exploited remotely through various attack vectors including web-based file access interfaces, network file system mounts, or by manipulating file system contents that the application processes. Systems running vulnerable versions may experience complete service unavailability, requiring manual intervention to restart the application processes and potentially causing cascading failures in dependent services.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2004-1009 should prioritize immediate patching of affected systems to the latest stable version of midnight commander where the infinite loop handling has been corrected. Organizations should implement network segmentation and access controls to limit exposure of systems running mc to trusted users only, while monitoring for suspicious file access patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. The application should be configured with strict input validation parameters and resource limits to prevent complete system exhaustion. System administrators should also consider implementing intrusion detection systems that can identify abnormal processing patterns indicative of infinite loop conditions. Additionally, regular security assessments should verify that no other applications with similar input handling vulnerabilities exist within the environment, as the underlying architectural flaw demonstrates poor defensive programming practices that may be replicated elsewhere in the system infrastructure.