CVE-2004-2596 in Quake II Server
Summary
by MITRE
Quake II server before R1Q2, as used in multiple products, allows remote attackers cause a denial of service (exhaustion of connection slots) via a large number of connections from the same IP address.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/19/2017
The vulnerability described in CVE-2004-2596 represents a classic resource exhaustion attack targeting the Quake II game server implementation. This weakness affects multiple products that utilize the R1Q2 server software, creating a significant security concern for network administrators and system operators. The vulnerability stems from insufficient connection management mechanisms within the server software, allowing malicious actors to exploit the system's limited connection slots through coordinated attack patterns.
The technical flaw manifests as a lack of proper rate limiting and connection validation mechanisms within the Quake II server implementation. When attackers establish numerous simultaneous connections from a single IP address, the server's connection slot management fails to properly handle this flood of requests. This design deficiency creates a scenario where legitimate users cannot establish connections while the server remains overwhelmed with connection attempts from the malicious source. The vulnerability specifically targets the server's ability to manage concurrent connections, effectively creating a denial of service condition.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability can severely disrupt gaming services and network availability for legitimate users. The attack can render the game server completely inaccessible to new players while existing connections may be dropped or terminated. Network administrators face the challenge of maintaining service availability while dealing with the resource exhaustion caused by the attack. The vulnerability affects not just individual servers but entire gaming communities that rely on these services, potentially causing significant downtime and user experience degradation.
The attack pattern described in CVE-2004-2596 aligns with common denial of service strategies and can be classified under the CWE-400 category for Uncontrolled Resource Consumption. This vulnerability demonstrates how insufficient input validation and connection handling can create exploitable conditions in network services. The ATT&CK framework would categorize this as a resource exhaustion technique where attackers leverage system limitations to deny service to legitimate users. The vulnerability also relates to CWE-665 improper initialization of resources and CWE-307 improper restriction of excessive authentication attempts, as the server fails to properly manage connection attempts from single sources.
Mitigation strategies should focus on implementing proper rate limiting and connection throttling mechanisms within the server configuration. Network administrators should configure firewall rules to limit the number of connections permitted from a single IP address within a given time period. The server software should be updated to versions that include proper connection slot management and authentication validation. Implementing connection tracking mechanisms and monitoring for unusual connection patterns can help detect and prevent such attacks. Additionally, deploying intrusion detection systems that can identify and block connection flooding patterns provides an additional layer of protection against this type of resource exhaustion attack. Regular security audits and updates to the server software ensure that known vulnerabilities are addressed promptly while maintaining the service availability for legitimate users.