CVE-2005-0382 in Breed
Summary
by MITRE
Breed patch 1 and earlier allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) via an empty UDP packet, which triggers a null dereference.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/06/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2005-0382 affects Breed patch 1 and earlier versions, representing a critical denial of service flaw that can be exploited remotely by attackers. This vulnerability specifically targets the handling of UDP packets within the Breed software implementation, creating a scenario where legitimate network traffic can be manipulated to trigger application instability. The flaw manifests when the system receives an empty UDP packet, which should normally be handled gracefully but instead causes the application to crash due to improper input validation mechanisms.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability stems from a null pointer dereference condition that occurs during packet processing. When Breed encounters an empty UDP packet, the software fails to properly validate the packet contents before attempting to process them, leading to a scenario where a null pointer is dereferenced during the application's execution flow. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-476 category of NULL Pointer Dereference, which represents a common software flaw where an application attempts to access memory through a null pointer reference. The absence of proper input sanitization and validation creates an exploitable condition that can be readily leveraged by remote attackers without requiring authentication or specialized privileges.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability presents a significant threat to system availability and service continuity. The remote exploitation capability means that attackers can potentially disrupt services from anywhere on the network without needing physical access or local credentials. The denial of service effect manifests as complete application crash, forcing administrators to restart services manually and potentially causing cascading failures in dependent systems. Network administrators must consider that this vulnerability could be exploited as part of broader attack campaigns targeting network infrastructure, particularly in environments where Breed is used for network management or monitoring purposes.
The exploitation of this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1498 which covers network denial of service attacks. Attackers can leverage this flaw to disrupt network services by sending specially crafted empty UDP packets that trigger the null pointer dereference. The attack requires minimal resources and can be automated, making it particularly dangerous for systems that rely on continuous network availability. Organizations using Breed software should consider implementing network segmentation and monitoring to detect unusual UDP traffic patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. Additionally, the vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper error handling in network applications and highlights how seemingly benign input conditions can lead to critical system failures. The lack of input validation in this case represents a fundamental security weakness that could be addressed through proper defensive programming practices and comprehensive testing of network input handling routines.
Mitigation strategies should include immediate patching of affected Breed versions to address the null pointer dereference issue. Organizations should also implement network access controls to limit UDP traffic to necessary services only, and deploy intrusion detection systems that can identify and alert on anomalous UDP packet patterns. Regular security assessments of network infrastructure components should include verification of input validation mechanisms and proper error handling procedures. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical importance of robust software testing, particularly for network-facing applications that must handle untrusted input from remote sources.