CVE-2004-1981 in Crystal Reports
Summary
by MITRE
The web interface for Crystal Reports allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (disk exhaustion) by repeatedly requesting reports without retrieving the associated image files, which are not cleared from the image file folder.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/05/2019
The vulnerability described in CVE-2004-1981 represents a significant denial of service weakness within the Crystal Reports web interface architecture. This flaw specifically targets the handling of image files associated with report generation processes, creating a persistent resource consumption issue that can ultimately render the affected system unusable. The vulnerability exists in the web-based reporting component of Crystal Reports, which is widely deployed in enterprise environments for generating business intelligence reports and dashboards. Attackers can exploit this weakness by repeatedly submitting report requests without properly retrieving the accompanying image files, leading to a gradual accumulation of temporary image data on the server filesystem.
The technical mechanism behind this vulnerability stems from improper resource management within the Crystal Reports web interface implementation. When report requests are processed, the system generates temporary image files that are intended to be cleaned up after retrieval by the client. However, the flaw occurs when attackers submit multiple requests while deliberately avoiding the retrieval of these image files, causing the temporary storage directory to continuously fill with unreleased image data. This represents a classic case of resource leak vulnerability where temporary files are not properly garbage collected or managed, leading to progressive disk space consumption. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it operates at the file system level, making it difficult to detect through traditional network-based monitoring systems and allowing attackers to consume resources silently over time.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption to potentially compromise the entire reporting infrastructure and underlying server operations. As disk space becomes progressively consumed, the system may experience cascading failures including application crashes, database connection issues, and ultimately complete system unavailability. Organizations relying on Crystal Reports for critical business reporting may face significant operational downtime, especially during peak reporting periods when multiple users generate reports simultaneously. The vulnerability also creates opportunities for attackers to perform additional malicious activities such as filling up system partitions to prevent legitimate system operations or to create conditions that might trigger other system failures. This type of resource exhaustion attack aligns with the attack pattern described in the attack tree framework where adversaries target system resources to achieve their objectives.
From a cybersecurity perspective, this vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper resource management and input validation in web applications. The flaw can be categorized under CWE-400 as "Uncontrolled Resource Consumption" and relates to the broader category of denial of service vulnerabilities that affect system availability. Organizations should implement mitigations including automatic cleanup mechanisms for temporary files, disk space monitoring and alerting systems, and rate limiting controls to prevent excessive report generation requests. The attack pattern for this vulnerability would fall under the MITRE ATT&CK framework's T1499.004 technique for "Endpoint Denial of Service" and T1566.001 for "Phishing with Malicious Attachments" if attackers use this weakness as part of a larger attack chain. Effective mitigation strategies should include configuring automated cleanup jobs for temporary image directories, implementing file system quotas, establishing monitoring thresholds for disk usage, and ensuring that the web interface properly enforces cleanup protocols for all generated resources regardless of client behavior.