CVE-2004-2392 in Mandrake Linux Corporate Server
Summary
by MITRE
libuser 0.51.7 allows attackers to cause a denial of service (crash or disk consumption) via unknown attack vectors, related to read failures and other bugs.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/05/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2004-2392 affects libuser version 0.51.7, a library component commonly used in Unix-like operating systems for user and group management operations. This flaw represents a significant security concern as it enables attackers to potentially disrupt system services through various attack vectors that exploit read failures and other underlying bugs within the library implementation. The libuser library serves as a critical interface for managing user accounts and authentication parameters, making it a prime target for adversaries seeking to compromise system availability and stability. The vulnerability manifests in ways that can lead to either system crashes or excessive disk consumption, both of which constitute serious denial of service conditions that can severely impact system operations and user access to services.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from improper handling of read operations and associated error conditions within the libuser library codebase. When encountering malformed input or unexpected system states, the library fails to properly validate or recover from these conditions, leading to unpredictable behavior that can escalate into complete system instability. The underlying implementation flaws likely involve inadequate boundary checking, insufficient input sanitization, or improper resource management during read operations that process user account data. These issues create opportunities for attackers to craft specific inputs or conditions that trigger the library's failure modes, resulting in either immediate system crashes or gradual resource exhaustion that consumes available disk space. The vulnerability's classification as affecting read failures indicates that the problem specifically occurs during data retrieval operations, suggesting that the library's handling of user database queries or file access routines contains critical design flaws.
The operational impact of CVE-2004-2392 extends beyond simple service disruption to potentially compromise the overall integrity and availability of systems relying on libuser for authentication and user management functions. When systems experience crashes or disk consumption issues due to this vulnerability, administrators may face extended downtime while troubleshooting and implementing fixes. The instability introduced by this flaw can affect critical services including login mechanisms, user account management systems, and authentication servers that depend on libuser functionality. Organizations may experience cascading failures as the library's instability propagates through interconnected system components, potentially leading to broader service outages. The vulnerability's potential for disk consumption represents a particularly concerning aspect as it can silently degrade system performance over time, making detection more difficult while gradually reducing system functionality and storage availability for legitimate operations.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2004-2392 should prioritize immediate patching of affected libuser installations to address the underlying read failure and error handling issues. System administrators should conduct comprehensive inventory assessments to identify all systems running vulnerable versions of libuser and prioritize remediation efforts accordingly. Security monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual disk usage patterns or system crash events that may indicate exploitation attempts. Network segmentation and access controls should be implemented to limit potential attack vectors that could leverage this vulnerability. The implementation of proper input validation and error handling procedures within applications that utilize libuser can provide additional layers of protection against exploitation attempts. Organizations should also consider implementing automated patch management systems to ensure timely deployment of security updates. From a compliance perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-248, which addresses the issue of an exception being thrown but not caught, and may relate to ATT&CK technique T1499.1 for network denial of service attacks. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify similar issues in other system components that may present comparable risks to system availability and stability.