CVE-2005-2360 in Ethereal
Summary
by MITRE
Unknown vulnerability in the LDAP dissector in Ethereal 0.8.5 through 0.10.11 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (free static memory and application crash) via unknown attack vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/11/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2005-2360 represents a critical denial of service flaw within the LDAP dissector component of Ethereal network protocol analyzer version 0.8.5 through 0.10.11. This issue manifests as a remote attack vector that can trigger application instability and system crashes through unspecified attack methods. The vulnerability specifically targets the protocol analysis functionality of Ethereal, which is designed to capture and interpret network traffic for troubleshooting and analysis purposes. The affected component processes Lightweight Directory Access Protocol traffic, which is commonly used for directory services in enterprise environments, making this vulnerability particularly concerning for network administrators and security professionals who rely on proper protocol analysis for monitoring network activities.
The technical nature of this vulnerability involves improper handling of malformed or unexpected LDAP protocol data within the dissector module. When Ethereal encounters certain malformed LDAP packets or protocol structures, the dissector fails to properly validate input data before attempting to process it, resulting in memory corruption issues. The vulnerability causes the application to free static memory regions that should remain allocated, leading to memory management errors that ultimately result in application crashes. This memory corruption behavior aligns with common software security flaws categorized under CWE-121, which deals with stack-based buffer overflow conditions, though the specific manifestation here involves static memory handling rather than traditional buffer overflows. The improper memory management can be exploited by remote attackers who craft specially designed LDAP packets to trigger the vulnerable code path within the dissector.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple application instability to potentially disrupt network monitoring operations and compromise security analysis capabilities. Organizations relying on Ethereal for network traffic inspection and protocol analysis would face significant operational challenges when attackers exploit this vulnerability, as it could lead to complete application failure during critical network monitoring periods. The remote nature of the attack means that adversaries do not require physical access to the system or local network privileges to exploit the vulnerability, making it particularly dangerous in environments where network traffic analysis tools are deployed. This vulnerability effectively creates a vector for attackers to deny service to legitimate users who depend on Ethereal for network security monitoring, potentially masking other attacks or preventing proper incident response activities.
The mitigation strategy for CVE-2005-2360 involves immediate upgrading to a patched version of Ethereal, specifically version 0.10.12 or later, which contains fixes for the memory handling issues in the LDAP dissector. Network administrators should also implement network segmentation and access controls to limit exposure of systems running Ethereal to untrusted networks. Additional defensive measures include implementing network intrusion detection systems that can identify and block malformed LDAP traffic patterns, as well as deploying redundant monitoring solutions to ensure continued network visibility even if the primary tool becomes unavailable. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to the T1498 technique for network denial of service, where adversaries leverage application-level flaws to disrupt network monitoring capabilities. The vulnerability also intersects with T1566 for initial access through network-based attacks, as attackers may use this flaw to gain a foothold in network environments where monitoring tools are deployed. Organizations should also consider implementing protocol validation and sanitization measures at network perimeters to prevent malformed packets from reaching vulnerable applications, thereby reducing the attack surface for similar memory corruption vulnerabilities.