CVE-2005-2815 in FlatNuke
Summary
by MITRE
print.php in FlatNuke 2.5.6 allows remote attackers to obtain sensitive information (path disclosure on error) or cause a denial of service (resource consumption) via an MS-DOS device name in the news parameter to print.php, such as (1) AUX, (2) CON, (3) PRN, (4) COM1, or (5) LPT1.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/11/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2005-2815 affects FlatNuke 2.5.6, a content management system that suffered from improper input validation in its print.php script. This flaw represents a path disclosure vulnerability that occurs when the application processes malformed input through the news parameter, specifically when MS-DOS device names are passed as values. The affected device names include AUX, CON, PRN, COM1, and LPT1 which are reserved device names in the Windows operating system that the application fails to properly sanitize or validate before processing.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the application's lack of proper input filtering and validation mechanisms. When a remote attacker submits one of these reserved device names through the news parameter, the print.php script attempts to process these values without adequate sanitization, leading to unintended system behavior. The path disclosure occurs because the application's error handling routines expose internal file paths and system information when attempting to process these invalid inputs, revealing sensitive information about the server's file structure and configuration to unauthorized users.
This vulnerability presents significant operational impact across multiple threat vectors. From a reconnaissance perspective, attackers can obtain detailed system path information that could aid in subsequent exploitation attempts, potentially exposing the application's directory structure and file locations. The denial of service aspect of this vulnerability occurs through resource consumption, where the application's processing of these invalid device names can cause excessive CPU or memory usage, potentially leading to system instability or complete service unavailability. The combination of information disclosure and denial of service capabilities makes this vulnerability particularly dangerous for web applications running on affected systems.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-20, which describes improper input validation, and demonstrates characteristics consistent with CWE-470, where the use of dangerous functions with untrusted input leads to path traversal and information disclosure. From an ATT&CK perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1083 (File and Directory Discovery) and T1499 (Endpoint Denial of Service), as attackers can both enumerate system paths and consume resources to cause service disruption. The attack surface is broad since any remote user can exploit this vulnerability without requiring authentication, making it particularly attractive to automated attack tools.
Organizations should immediately implement input validation and sanitization measures to prevent processing of reserved device names in all user-supplied parameters. The recommended mitigations include implementing strict parameter validation that rejects known dangerous input patterns, particularly reserved device names from operating systems. System administrators should also consider implementing web application firewalls to filter out suspicious input patterns and ensure that the affected FlatNuke installations are updated to versions that properly handle these inputs. Additionally, logging mechanisms should be enhanced to monitor for attempts to exploit this vulnerability, as these attacks often follow predictable patterns that can be detected through proper monitoring and alerting configurations.