CVE-2004-1092 in Midnight commander
Summary
by MITRE
Midnight commander (mc) 4.5.55 and earlier allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service by causing mc to free unallocated memory.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/05/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2004-1092 affects midnight commander version 4.5.55 and earlier, representing a critical memory management flaw that can be exploited remotely to trigger a denial of service condition. This issue stems from improper handling of memory allocation and deallocation within the file manager application, specifically when processing certain remote data inputs. The flaw manifests when the application attempts to free memory that has not been properly allocated, creating a scenario where the memory management system encounters invalid pointers or corrupted memory structures. This type of vulnerability falls under the category of improper free operations and memory corruption issues that are commonly classified as CWE-415, which addresses double free conditions and improper memory management practices.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs when remote attackers send malformed or specially crafted data to the midnight commander application, typically through network-based file transfers or remote directory access operations. When the application processes these inputs, it executes code paths that lead to attempting to free memory blocks that were either never allocated or have already been freed, resulting in undefined behavior that typically manifests as application crashes or system instability. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it can be triggered remotely without requiring authentication, making it an attractive target for automated exploitation tools and malicious actors seeking to disrupt file management services. This flaw represents a classic example of memory safety issues that are frequently addressed through proper input validation and memory management practices.
From an operational perspective, the impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption to potentially compromise the stability of systems relying on midnight commander for file operations. When exploited successfully, the denial of service condition can prevent legitimate users from accessing file management capabilities, effectively rendering the application unusable until restart or system reboot occurs. The vulnerability affects systems where midnight commander is deployed as a remote file management tool or where it processes untrusted data from network sources, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where file sharing and remote access are common practices. Organizations using older versions of midnight commander should be particularly concerned as this vulnerability has existed for many years and represents a fundamental flaw in memory handling that could be exploited in various attack scenarios.
The mitigation strategies for CVE-2004-1092 primarily focus on immediate remediation through software updates and patches provided by the maintainers of midnight commander. System administrators should prioritize upgrading to version 4.5.56 or later, where the memory management issues have been addressed through proper validation of memory allocation before deallocation. Additionally, implementing network segmentation and access controls can help limit the exposure of vulnerable systems to potential attackers, while monitoring for unusual network traffic patterns may help detect exploitation attempts. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of input validation and memory safety practices in software development, aligning with ATT&CK technique T1499.004 for network denial of service attacks and emphasizing the need for proper software security testing including memory safety verification. Organizations should also consider implementing application whitelisting policies to restrict execution of vulnerable versions and ensure that all file management systems undergo regular security assessments to identify and remediate similar memory management flaws.