CVE-2005-0704 in Ethereal
Summary
by MITRE
Buffer overflow in the Etheric dissector in Ethereal 0.10.7 through 0.10.9 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) and possibly execute arbitrary code.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/30/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2005-0704 represents a critical buffer overflow flaw within the Etheric dissector component of Ethereal network protocol analyzer version 0.10.7 through 0.10.9. This issue arises from inadequate input validation and memory management practices in the dissector module responsible for parsing Etheric protocol data. The buffer overflow occurs when the application processes malformed or specially crafted Etheric protocol packets that exceed the allocated buffer space, leading to unpredictable memory corruption patterns. The vulnerability is particularly concerning as it affects a widely used network analysis tool that operates at the protocol decoding level, making it susceptible to exploitation in network traffic monitoring scenarios.
The technical implementation of this buffer overflow stems from improper bounds checking within the Etheric dissector function that handles packet parsing operations. When Ethereal encounters Etheric protocol data structures, the dissector routine fails to validate the length of incoming data fields before copying them into fixed-size buffers. This classic programming error allows attackers to craft malicious packets containing oversized data fields that overflow the designated memory buffers, potentially overwriting adjacent memory locations including return addresses and control data. The vulnerability manifests as a stack-based buffer overflow, where the overflow corrupts the program's execution flow and can be leveraged to redirect program control to attacker-controlled code.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents a significant risk to network security monitoring infrastructure that relies on Ethereal for protocol analysis. Remote attackers can exploit this flaw by transmitting specially crafted Etheric protocol packets to systems running vulnerable versions of Ethereal, resulting in immediate application crashes that cause denial of service conditions. The impact extends beyond simple service interruption as the buffer overflow may enable remote code execution, allowing attackers to gain unauthorized control over the affected systems. This makes the vulnerability particularly dangerous in environments where network monitoring tools are deployed in critical infrastructure monitoring roles, as successful exploitation could lead to complete system compromise and potential lateral movement within the network.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-121, which specifically addresses stack-based buffer overflow conditions in programming environments, and represents a direct violation of secure coding practices for memory management. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving remote code execution through protocol analysis tools and denial of service attacks against network infrastructure components. The attack surface is broad as any system running vulnerable Ethereal versions and processing network traffic containing Etheric protocol data becomes a potential target. Organizations utilizing network protocol analyzers for security monitoring and incident response must consider this vulnerability as a critical threat that could compromise their defensive capabilities.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2005-0704 primarily focus on immediate version upgrades to Ethereal 0.10.10 or later, which contain patches addressing the buffer overflow conditions in the Etheric dissector. System administrators should also implement network segmentation and access controls to limit exposure of vulnerable systems to untrusted network traffic. Additional protective measures include deploying network intrusion detection systems that can identify and block suspicious Etheric protocol traffic patterns, implementing proper input validation at network boundaries, and maintaining comprehensive monitoring of protocol analyzer applications for signs of exploitation attempts. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify any remaining instances of vulnerable software deployments within the organization's infrastructure.