CVE-2005-2366 in Ethereal
Summary
by MITRE
Unknown vulnerability in the BER dissector in Ethereal 0.10.11 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (abort or infinite loop) via unknown attack vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/05/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2005-2366 represents a critical denial of service weakness within the Basic Encoding Rules dissector component of Ethereal network protocol analyzer version 0.10.11. This flaw resides in the application's ability to process and interpret binary encoded data structures, specifically those following the ber encoding standard. The issue manifests when the software encounters malformed or specially crafted input data during protocol analysis operations, causing the application to either terminate abruptly or become trapped in an infinite loop scenario that consumes excessive system resources.
The technical nature of this vulnerability places it within the domain of software robustness and input validation failures, which aligns with CWE-691, specifically concerning inadequate input validation leading to denial of service conditions. The BER dissector's failure to properly handle malformed data structures indicates a fundamental weakness in the application's defensive programming practices and error handling mechanisms. When processing network traffic containing specially constructed ber-encoded packets, the dissector fails to implement proper bounds checking or exception handling, allowing malicious actors to craft inputs that exploit this weakness.
From an operational standpoint, this vulnerability presents significant risks to network monitoring infrastructure that relies on Ethereal for protocol analysis and troubleshooting. Attackers can remotely trigger system instability by sending malicious packets that cause the application to hang or crash, effectively disrupting network monitoring capabilities and potentially creating blind spots in network security operations. The impact extends beyond simple service disruption as the infinite loop condition can consume substantial cpu and memory resources, potentially leading to system resource exhaustion that affects other network services running on the same infrastructure.
The attack vectors for this vulnerability remain unspecified in the original description, but typically such dissector-based weaknesses can be exploited through crafted network traffic that mimics legitimate protocol structures while incorporating malformed ber encoding elements. This approach aligns with techniques described in the attack pattern taxonomy under ATT&CK framework category TA0005, which covers defense evasion and disruption methods targeting software components through malformed input manipulation. Organizations utilizing Ethereal for network analysis should consider the broader implications of this vulnerability on their network security posture, particularly in environments where continuous monitoring is critical for threat detection and incident response operations.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should prioritize immediate software updates to newer versions of Ethereal that contain patched dissector implementations and improved input validation. Additionally, network administrators should implement traffic filtering rules that can identify and block suspicious ber-encoded packets, while also considering the deployment of intrusion detection systems that can monitor for abnormal application behavior patterns. The vulnerability highlights the importance of regular software maintenance and security updates, as well as the need for robust input validation mechanisms in network protocol analysis tools that process untrusted data streams from network environments. Organizations should also consider implementing redundant monitoring solutions to ensure continuous visibility even when primary tools experience disruptions due to similar vulnerabilities.