CVE-2005-0275 in 3CDaemon
Summary
by MITRE
TFTP in 3Com 3CDaemon 2.0 revision 10 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) via a GET request containing an MS-DOS device name.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/06/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2005-0275 affects the Trivial File Transfer Protocol implementation within the 3Com 3CDaemon 2.0 revision 10 software. This represents a critical denial of service weakness that specifically targets the file transfer functionality of network devices manufactured by 3Com. The flaw manifests when the TFTP server processes a GET request containing an MS-DOS device name, which triggers an application crash and subsequent service disruption. This vulnerability directly impacts the availability of the TFTP service, potentially affecting network operations that depend on file transfers for configuration management, firmware updates, or system administration tasks.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in the insufficient input validation and sanitization mechanisms within the 3CDaemon's TFTP implementation. When processing a GET request with an MS-DOS device name such as CON, PRN, AUX, NUL, or COM1 through COM9, the application fails to properly handle these special device names that are recognized by the MS-DOS operating system. These device names are designed to interface with hardware components and are typically rejected by modern operating systems for security reasons, but the 3Com 3CDaemon lacks proper validation to prevent their exploitation. The lack of proper boundary checking and error handling in the TFTP protocol handler causes the application to crash when attempting to process these invalid file paths, leading to the complete service disruption.
This vulnerability operates at the application layer and presents a significant operational risk for organizations relying on 3Com network equipment for file transfer operations. The remote exploitation capability means that attackers can trigger the denial of service condition without requiring local access or authentication credentials, making it particularly dangerous in networked environments. The impact extends beyond simple service interruption as it can affect critical network infrastructure management tasks that depend on TFTP for configuration file transfers, firmware updates, and system maintenance operations. Network administrators may experience unexpected service outages that could disrupt business operations or compromise the ability to perform essential maintenance tasks.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-129, which addresses improper validation of input boundaries, and demonstrates characteristics consistent with CWE-20, representing improper input validation in software systems. From an adversarial perspective, this flaw maps to attack techniques described in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the T1499 category for network denial of service, specifically targeting the availability of network services. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying vendor patches or firmware updates, implementing network segmentation to isolate affected devices, and monitoring for suspicious TFTP traffic patterns. Additionally, network administrators should consider disabling unnecessary TFTP services when not actively required, and implement intrusion detection systems that can identify and alert on malformed TFTP requests containing MS-DOS device names. The vulnerability underscores the importance of proper input validation and the need for robust error handling mechanisms in network service implementations to prevent exploitation of similar weaknesses in other network protocols and applications.