CVE-2005-1269 in Gaim
Summary
by MITRE
Gaim before 1.3.1 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) via a Yahoo! message with non-ASCII characters in a file name.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/06/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2005-1269 affects Gaim, an instant messaging client that was widely used in the early 2000s for connecting to various messaging protocols including Yahoo Messenger. This particular flaw represents a classic buffer overflow or memory corruption issue that specifically targets the application's handling of file transfers within Yahoo Messenger communications. The vulnerability exists in versions of Gaim prior to 1.3.1, indicating that it was a well-known issue that required a specific version update to resolve. The flaw manifests when the application receives a Yahoo Messenger message containing a file transfer request with non-ASCII characters embedded in the filename, which the application fails to properly process and handle.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and string handling within Gaim's Yahoo Messenger protocol implementation. When a malicious user sends a specially crafted message with non-ASCII characters in the filename field, the application's parsing routines fail to properly sanitize or validate the input data. This leads to memory corruption or buffer overflow conditions that cause the application to crash and terminate unexpectedly. The vulnerability specifically impacts the file transfer functionality of the Yahoo Messenger protocol within Gaim, where the application attempts to process the filename string without proper bounds checking or character encoding validation. The use of non-ASCII characters creates a parsing edge case that the original code did not account for, allowing attackers to exploit the memory handling routines through carefully constructed malicious input.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents a significant denial of service risk to users of Gaim who are connected to Yahoo Messenger services. The impact extends beyond simple application instability to potentially disrupt communication channels and service availability for legitimate users. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to repeatedly crash the messaging application, effectively preventing users from communicating through the affected client. The attack vector is particularly concerning because it requires minimal technical expertise to execute, as it only involves sending a specific type of message to a target user. This makes the vulnerability particularly dangerous in environments where users may be targeted systematically or where the application is used in mission-critical communications scenarios. The vulnerability also demonstrates poor defensive programming practices that were common in early instant messaging clients.
The mitigation strategy for this vulnerability involves upgrading to Gaim version 1.3.1 or later, which includes proper input validation and handling of non-ASCII characters in filename fields. Organizations should implement patch management processes to ensure all affected systems receive the necessary updates promptly. Network administrators should consider implementing monitoring for unusual messaging patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-121, which describes heap-based buffer overflow conditions, and represents a classic example of improper input validation that can lead to application instability. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to the T1499.004 technique for network denial of service and demonstrates how input validation flaws can be exploited to achieve system disruption. Additionally, this vulnerability highlights the importance of proper internationalization and character encoding handling in messaging applications, as the issue specifically arises from non-ASCII character processing rather than fundamental protocol flaws. The remediation process should include comprehensive testing to ensure that the updated version properly handles all character encodings and does not introduce new vulnerabilities in the file handling routines.