CVE-2005-1469 in Ethereal
Summary
by MITRE
Unknown vulnerability in the GSM dissector in Ethereal before 0.10.11 allows remote attackers to cause the dissector to access an invalid pointer.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/30/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2005-1469 represents a critical memory corruption issue within the GSM dissector component of Ethereal network protocol analyzer version 0.10.10 and earlier. This flaw exists in the packet analysis functionality that processes GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) protocol traffic, specifically when handling malformed or specially crafted GSM packets. The vulnerability manifests as an invalid pointer access condition that occurs during the protocol decoding process, where the dissector fails to properly validate input data before attempting to reference memory locations. This type of vulnerability falls under the category of memory safety issues and is particularly dangerous in network analysis tools that process untrusted data from network traffic.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation within the GSM dissector module. When Ethereal encounters a malformed GSM packet, the dissector attempts to parse the packet structure without sufficient bounds checking or memory boundary validation. This allows an attacker to craft specific packet sequences that cause the dissector to access memory locations that have not been properly allocated or initialized. The invalid pointer access can result in unpredictable behavior including application crashes, memory corruption, or potentially arbitrary code execution depending on the specific memory layout and operating system protections. This vulnerability directly maps to CWE-476 which describes NULL pointer dereference conditions and CWE-125 which covers out-of-bounds read errors, both of which are common precursors to more severe memory corruption exploits.
The operational impact of CVE-2005-1469 extends beyond simple application instability to potentially enable remote code execution in vulnerable environments. When an attacker can force Ethereal to process maliciously crafted GSM packets, they can exploit this memory corruption to either crash the application or potentially gain control of the system running Ethereal. This is particularly concerning in network monitoring scenarios where Ethereal might be deployed to analyze traffic from untrusted sources or in environments where network administrators might inadvertently process malicious packets. The vulnerability affects the core functionality of packet analysis, making it a critical issue for network security professionals who rely on Ethereal for traffic inspection and analysis. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability in man-in-the-middle scenarios or network reconnaissance activities to disrupt network monitoring capabilities or establish persistent access to systems where Ethereal is deployed.
The recommended mitigation strategies for CVE-2005-1469 involve immediate upgrading to Ethereal version 0.10.11 or later, which contains the necessary patches to address the memory corruption issue. Organizations should also implement network segmentation and access controls to limit exposure to potentially malicious traffic that could trigger the vulnerability. Network administrators should consider deploying intrusion detection systems that can identify and block suspicious packet patterns that might exploit this dissector flaw. Additionally, implementing proper input validation and memory safety practices in network analysis tools aligns with industry best practices and can be referenced against ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for command and scripting interpreter usage, as the vulnerability could potentially be exploited to execute arbitrary commands through compromised network monitoring systems. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should include checks for outdated network protocol analyzers to prevent exploitation of similar memory corruption vulnerabilities in other network monitoring tools.