CVE-2004-1500 in Kiss Psycho Circus
Summary
by MITRE
Format string vulnerability in the Lithtech engine, as used in multiple games, allows remote authenticated users to cause a denial of service (application crash) via format string specifiers in (1) a nickname or (2) a message.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/21/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2004-1500 represents a critical format string vulnerability within the Lithtech engine, a game development framework that was widely adopted across numerous titles during the early 2000s. This flaw exists in the engine's handling of user-provided input data, specifically in how it processes nickname and message fields within multiplayer gaming environments. The vulnerability manifests when the engine fails to properly validate or sanitize format specifiers contained within user-entered text, creating an exploitable condition that can be leveraged by authenticated attackers to disrupt game operations. The Lithtech engine's widespread adoption across multiple commercial games meant that this vulnerability affected a substantial user base, making it particularly concerning from a security perspective.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-134, which specifically addresses format string vulnerabilities where format specifiers are derived from untrusted input sources. When authenticated users submit specially crafted nicknames or messages containing format string specifiers such as %s, %d, or %x, the Lithtech engine processes these inputs without proper validation, leading to unpredictable behavior in the application's memory management. The engine's printf-family functions receive these malformed inputs directly, causing them to read from arbitrary memory locations or write to unintended memory addresses, ultimately resulting in application crashes. This type of vulnerability operates at the intersection of software security and memory corruption, where the attacker's input directly influences the execution flow of the application.
The operational impact of CVE-2004-1500 extends beyond simple denial of service, as it represents a fundamental flaw in how the engine handles user authentication and input processing within multiplayer environments. In practical terms, this vulnerability allows malicious users who have already gained authentication credentials to deliberately crash game servers or client applications, disrupting gameplay for other users and potentially affecting server stability. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous in competitive gaming environments where server uptime and fair play are critical, as it can be used to systematically degrade service quality or even prevent legitimate players from accessing game services. This weakness also creates opportunities for attackers to potentially escalate their privileges or execute more sophisticated attacks if the engine's memory management is further compromised. From an attacker's perspective, this vulnerability fits within the ATT&CK framework's technique T1499.004 for Network Denial of Service, as it enables authenticated users to cause service disruption through crafted input.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate patching of affected Lithtech engine versions, with developers implementing proper input sanitization and validation routines that reject or escape format specifiers within user-entered data. The recommended approach involves modifying the engine's string processing functions to explicitly handle user input by either escaping special characters or using safe string formatting functions that prevent format string exploitation. Additionally, implementing strict input validation at the application layer can prevent malformed data from reaching the vulnerable engine components. Organizations should also consider network-level protections such as rate limiting and input filtering to reduce the impact of potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of secure coding practices in game development environments where user interaction with core engine functionality can create security risks, and highlights the need for regular security assessments of game engines and their underlying libraries to prevent similar issues from emerging in future implementations.