CVE-2005-1461 in Ethereal
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple buffer overflows in the (1) SIP, (2) CMIP, (3) CMP, (4) CMS, (5) CRMF, (6) ESS, (7) OCSP, (8) X.509, (9) ISIS, (10) DISTCC, (11) FCELS, (12) Q.931, (13) NCP, (14) TCAP, (15) ISUP, (16) MEGACO, (17) PKIX1Explitit, (18) PKIX_Qualified, (19) Presentation dissectors in Ethereal before 0.10.11 allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) and possibly execute arbitrary code.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/29/2024
The vulnerability described in CVE-2005-1461 represents a critical buffer overflow issue affecting multiple protocol dissectors within Ethereal network protocol analyzer version 0.10.10 and earlier. This comprehensive flaw spans across nineteen distinct protocol implementations including SIP for Session Initiation Protocol, CMIP for Common Management Information Protocol, CMP for Certificate Management Protocol, CMS for Cryptographic Message Syntax, CRMF for Certificate Request Message Format, ESS for Electronic Signatures Standard, OCSP for Online Certificate Status Protocol, X.509 for Public Key Infrastructure, ISIS for Intermediate System to Intermediate System, DISTCC for Distributed Compiler, FCELS for File Compression and Encryption Library System, Q.931 for ISDN User Part, NCP for Network Control Protocol, TCAP for Transaction Capabilities Application Part, ISUP for ISDN User Part, MEGACO for Media Gateway Control Protocol, PKIX1Explitit for PKIX1 Explicit Syntax, PKIX_Qualified for PKIX Qualified Certificates, and Presentation dissectors. The vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and memory management practices in the protocol parsing components that process network traffic for analysis. These dissectors are responsible for interpreting and displaying protocol-specific data within the network traffic capture, making them prime targets for exploitation due to their critical role in network monitoring and analysis operations. The flaw manifests when the software attempts to process malformed or specially crafted protocol data that exceeds allocated buffer boundaries, leading to memory corruption and potential code execution. This vulnerability directly maps to CWE-121, which describes stack-based buffer overflow conditions, and CWE-122, which covers heap-based buffer overflow scenarios. The attack vector is particularly dangerous as it allows remote attackers to exploit the vulnerability without requiring authentication, making it highly attractive for malicious actors seeking to disrupt network monitoring operations or gain unauthorized access to systems. The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service, as it presents a potential path for arbitrary code execution on systems running vulnerable versions of Ethereal, thereby compromising the integrity and confidentiality of network monitoring activities. The vulnerability's widespread nature across multiple protocol dissectors indicates a systemic issue in the software architecture that affects the entire protocol analysis framework rather than isolated components.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability demonstrates how buffer overflows in protocol parsing software can lead to catastrophic system failures. When Ethereal encounters malformed protocol data within network traffic, the dissectors fail to properly validate input lengths and memory allocations, causing the software to write beyond allocated buffer boundaries. This memory corruption can result in program crashes, but more concerning is the potential for attackers to manipulate the corrupted memory to redirect execution flow and execute arbitrary code. The exploitability of these vulnerabilities is enhanced by the fact that Ethereal is commonly deployed in network monitoring scenarios where it processes untrusted network traffic from multiple sources. The attack surface is particularly large because network protocol analyzers like Ethereal are often run with elevated privileges to capture network traffic, increasing the potential impact of successful exploitation. The vulnerability affects both the stability and security of network monitoring infrastructure, as attackers could potentially use these flaws to gain unauthorized access to network monitoring systems or disrupt legitimate monitoring activities. This aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for Command and Scripting Interpreter and T1489 for Service Stop, as the buffer overflows could enable attackers to both execute malicious code and disrupt network services. The impact is particularly severe in enterprise environments where Ethereal may be used for security monitoring, incident response, and network troubleshooting, making the compromise of such tools potentially devastating to overall network security posture.
The remediation and mitigation strategies for CVE-2005-1461 center around immediate software updates and comprehensive security hardening measures. Organizations must upgrade to Ethereal version 0.10.11 or later, which includes patches addressing all nineteen protocol dissectors affected by the buffer overflow vulnerabilities. This update represents a critical security measure that addresses the root cause by implementing proper input validation and memory management practices across all affected protocol parsers. Beyond the immediate patch deployment, system administrators should consider implementing network segmentation and access controls to limit the exposure of network monitoring systems to untrusted traffic. The vulnerability highlights the importance of proper software development practices including bounds checking, memory management, and input validation, which should be integrated into security development lifecycle processes. Security teams should also implement network monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts, as attackers may attempt to probe for vulnerable systems before launching more sophisticated attacks. Regular vulnerability assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar issues in other network analysis tools and security infrastructure components. The incident underscores the necessity of maintaining up-to-date security software and the importance of conducting thorough security reviews of protocol handling components in network monitoring tools. Organizations should also consider implementing additional layers of security including intrusion detection systems and network access controls to reduce the attack surface and limit the potential impact of similar vulnerabilities in other software components. The vulnerability serves as a reminder that protocol analysis tools, while essential for network security, can themselves become attack vectors if not properly secured and maintained.