CVE-2005-0706 in grip
Summary
by MITRE
Buffer overflow in discdb.c for grip 3.1.2 allows attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) and possibly execute arbitrary code by causing the cddb lookup to return more matches than expected.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/04/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2005-0706 represents a critical buffer overflow condition within the discdb.c component of grip version 3.1.2, a popular CD player and audio management application. This flaw manifests during the CDDB lookup process when the application attempts to handle responses from CDDB servers containing an unexpected number of matches. The buffer overflow occurs because the application fails to properly validate or limit the number of entries returned by the CDDB service before attempting to store them in a fixed-size buffer structure.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation mechanisms within the CDDB lookup functionality. When grip receives a response from a CDDB server containing more matches than anticipated, the application's buffer management routines become overwhelmed. This condition typically arises from the lack of bounds checking on array or buffer operations, where the code assumes a maximum number of entries will be returned. The flaw directly corresponds to CWE-121, which describes stack-based buffer overflow conditions, and CWE-122, which addresses heap-based buffer overflow scenarios that can occur when insufficient memory allocation occurs for dynamic data processing.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service conditions to potentially enable remote code execution capabilities. An attacker exploiting this flaw can craft malicious CDDB responses containing an excessive number of entries, causing the grip application to crash or potentially execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the user running the application. This represents a significant security risk in environments where users might encounter untrusted CDDB data or where the application is used in automated contexts. The vulnerability affects the application's stability and introduces potential attack vectors for privilege escalation or system compromise.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate application updates to patched versions of grip that implement proper buffer size validation and input sanitization. System administrators should ensure that all instances of grip are updated to versions that address this specific buffer overflow condition. Additionally, network-level protections such as firewall rules that restrict access to CDDB servers or implementation of CDDB proxy services that validate responses before forwarding them to end-user applications can provide additional defense-in-depth measures. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1203, which covers legitimate program execution through exploitation of buffer overflow conditions, and demonstrates the importance of proper memory management practices in preventing such critical security flaws. Organizations should implement regular vulnerability assessments and maintain updated security patches to prevent exploitation of similar buffer overflow conditions in other software components.