CVE-2004-2496 in HTTP Daemon
Summary
by MITRE
The HTTP daemon in OpenText FirstClass 7.1 and 8.0 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (service availability loss) via a large number of POST requests to /Search.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/02/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2004-2496 represents a significant denial of service weakness within the OpenText FirstClass messaging platform version 7.1 and 8.0. This flaw specifically affects the HTTP daemon component that handles web-based communication services. The vulnerability manifests when the system receives an excessive volume of POST requests directed at the /Search endpoint, which ultimately leads to complete service unavailability for legitimate users. The attack vector is particularly concerning as it requires minimal sophistication while delivering substantial impact to system operations and user accessibility.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in the inadequate input validation and resource management within the HTTP daemon's request handling mechanism. When multiple POST requests are simultaneously processed against the /Search path, the system fails to properly throttle or limit concurrent connections, resulting in resource exhaustion. This behavior aligns with CWE-400, which categorizes unchecked resource consumption as a critical weakness in software design. The daemon does not implement proper rate limiting or connection pooling mechanisms to prevent abuse, making it susceptible to simple flood attacks that overwhelm the server's processing capabilities.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability creates severe business continuity risks for organizations relying on FirstClass for communication services. The denial of service condition effectively renders the search functionality and potentially other HTTP-based services unavailable, disrupting normal workflow operations. Attackers can exploit this weakness with minimal resources, making it particularly dangerous in environments where automated attack tools are readily available. The impact extends beyond simple service disruption as it can affect user productivity and may require system administrators to implement emergency response procedures to restore service availability.
The attack methodology leverages the fundamental principle of resource exhaustion attacks, which are categorized under the MITRE ATT&CK framework as part of the "Resource Exhaustion" technique. This vulnerability demonstrates how seemingly benign web endpoints can become attack vectors when proper defensive measures are absent. Organizations using affected versions of FirstClass should immediately implement network-level mitigations such as firewall rules to limit access to the /Search endpoint, deploy intrusion detection systems to monitor for unusual traffic patterns, and consider implementing application-level rate limiting. Additionally, system administrators should monitor for signs of exploitation and have incident response procedures in place to quickly address any successful attacks that may occur.