CVE-2004-2033 in HTTP FTP Server
Summary
by MITRE
Orenosv 0.5.9f allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) via a long HTTP GET request.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/02/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2004-2033 affects Orenosv version 0.5.9f, a web server implementation that fails to properly handle excessively long HTTP GET requests. This weakness represents a classic buffer overflow scenario where the application does not adequately validate the length of incoming HTTP headers or request lines, creating an exploitable condition that can be leveraged by remote attackers to disrupt service availability. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation mechanisms within the HTTP request parsing logic, specifically in how the server processes the GET method requests that contain unusually extended parameter strings or header values.
From a technical perspective, the flaw manifests when an attacker crafts an HTTP GET request containing an abnormally long URL or query string that exceeds the buffer size allocated by the Orenosv server for processing incoming requests. The server's request handling code fails to implement proper bounds checking or length validation, allowing the excessive data to overwrite adjacent memory regions or corrupt internal data structures. This memory corruption typically results in an application crash or segmentation fault, effectively rendering the web server unavailable to legitimate users. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-121 as a stack-based buffer overflow, which occurs when insufficient bounds checking allows data to be written beyond the allocated buffer space, leading to unpredictable behavior and system instability.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption, as it represents a significant security risk that can be exploited by malicious actors to perform denial of service attacks against web servers running the affected software. Attackers can leverage this weakness to repeatedly send malformed requests that cause the server to crash and restart, potentially leading to sustained availability issues that impact business operations and user access. The remote nature of the attack means that no local system access or authentication is required to exploit the vulnerability, making it particularly dangerous in production environments where such servers may be exposed to the internet. This type of vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.004 for network denial of service attacks, where adversaries specifically target network infrastructure to prevent access to services.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2004-2033 should prioritize immediate software updates and patches from the vendor, as the most effective solution involves upgrading to a newer version of Orenosv that implements proper input validation and bounds checking mechanisms. Organizations should also implement network-level protections such as rate limiting and request length restrictions through firewalls or web application firewalls to prevent excessively long requests from reaching the vulnerable server. Additionally, deploying intrusion detection systems that can identify and block suspicious HTTP GET request patterns will help detect potential exploitation attempts. Configuration hardening measures including setting appropriate limits on request line lengths and implementing proper error handling for malformed requests should be implemented to prevent similar vulnerabilities from being exploited in other components of the web infrastructure. Regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify and remediate similar buffer overflow vulnerabilities in other web server implementations and applications within the organization's attack surface.