CVE-2004-2148 in fprobe
Summary
by MITRE
unknown local vulnerability in the "change user" feature of slava astashonok fprobe 1.0.5 and earlier has unknown impact and attack vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/25/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2004-2148 represents a local security weakness within the fprobe network monitoring tool version 1.0.5 and earlier releases. This issue specifically affects the "change user" functionality within the software, indicating a potential privilege escalation or unauthorized access vector that could be exploited by local attackers. The fprobe application, developed by Slava Astashonok, is designed for network traffic analysis and monitoring, making it a critical component in network security infrastructure where such vulnerabilities could have significant operational implications.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation or improper privilege handling within the user switching mechanism of the fprobe application. When users attempt to change accounts or switch user contexts within the application, the system fails to properly validate the transition process, potentially allowing malicious local users to exploit this weakness. This flaw operates at the local system level, meaning attackers must already have access to the system to exploit it, but the potential impact could be substantial given that network monitoring tools often run with elevated privileges to capture and analyze traffic data. The vulnerability's classification as local indicates it does not expose the application to remote network attacks, but rather represents an internal security weakness that could be leveraged by compromised local accounts or insider threats.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as network monitoring tools like fprobe typically handle sensitive traffic data and may be configured with administrative access to network interfaces. If successfully exploited, an attacker could potentially gain unauthorized access to network monitoring capabilities, compromise the integrity of collected data, or use the elevated privileges to pivot to other systems within the network infrastructure. The unknown nature of both the specific impact and attack vectors suggests that the vulnerability could enable various malicious activities including data exfiltration, network reconnaissance, or further system compromise, making it particularly concerning for organizations relying on fprobe for security monitoring operations.
Organizations utilizing fprobe versions 1.0.5 or earlier should immediately implement mitigation strategies to address this vulnerability. The primary recommendation involves upgrading to the latest available version of fprobe that contains patches for this specific issue. Additionally, system administrators should review and harden the user access controls within the fprobe environment, ensuring that only authorized personnel have access to the application and its privilege escalation features. Network segmentation and monitoring of user activities within the fprobe environment can help detect potential exploitation attempts. From a compliance perspective, this vulnerability aligns with common weakness categories such as CWE-284 for improper access control and CWE-787 for out-of-bounds write conditions that could occur during user context switching operations, making it relevant to security frameworks like NIST SP 800-53 and ISO 27001 requirements for access control and vulnerability management. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this type of vulnerability under privilege escalation techniques, specifically targeting the use of local tools and utilities to gain elevated system access, which is consistent with the local nature of the vulnerability and its potential for unauthorized system access.