CVE-2005-0325 in Xpand Rally
Summary
by MITRE
Xpand Rally 1.0.0.0 allows remote attackers or remote malicious game servers to cause a denial of service (application crash) via a packet with large values that are not properly handled in certain malloc or memcpy operations.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/23/2017
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2005-0325 affects Xpand Rally version 1.0.0.0, a gaming application that is susceptible to denial of service attacks through malformed network packets. This issue represents a classic buffer overflow condition that occurs when the application fails to properly validate input data before processing memory allocation operations. The flaw manifests when remote attackers or malicious game servers transmit packets containing excessively large values that exceed the expected parameter ranges for malloc and memcpy functions, leading to application instability and potential system crashes.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in inadequate input validation and memory management practices within the network protocol handling code. When the application receives packets with oversized data values, the malloc function attempts to allocate memory blocks that either exceed system limits or cause integer overflow conditions, while memcpy operations attempt to copy data beyond allocated buffer boundaries. This combination of improper bounds checking and memory handling creates a condition where legitimate network traffic can trigger memory corruption, ultimately resulting in application termination. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-121, which describes stack-based buffer overflow conditions, and CWE-122, which covers heap-based buffer overflow scenarios, both of which are common attack vectors in network service applications.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risk to gaming environments where multiple players connect to shared servers. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting specially designed packets that, when processed by the vulnerable application, cause immediate service disruption. The impact extends beyond simple application crashes, as the denial of service can affect entire gaming sessions and potentially disrupt multiplayer experiences for numerous users simultaneously. This type of vulnerability is particularly dangerous in online gaming environments where server stability and availability are critical for user experience and business operations. The attack requires minimal technical expertise to execute, making it attractive to malicious actors seeking to disrupt gaming services.
The mitigation strategies for CVE-2005-0325 should focus on implementing robust input validation and memory management controls within the application. System administrators should prioritize applying vendor patches or updates that address the specific memory handling flaws in the Xpand Rally software. Additionally, network-level protections such as packet filtering rules can be implemented to limit the size of incoming data packets that reach the vulnerable application. The implementation of proper bounds checking for all malloc and memcpy operations, along with input sanitization routines, would prevent the exploitation of this vulnerability. Organizations should also consider implementing intrusion detection systems that can identify and block suspicious packet patterns associated with this specific attack vector, aligning with ATT&CK technique T1499.004 for network disruption attacks. Regular security assessments and code reviews focusing on memory management practices would help prevent similar vulnerabilities from being introduced in future versions of the software.