CVE-2005-2996 in StorageCentral
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple heap-based and stack-based buffer overflows in certain DCOM server components in VERITAS Storage Exec Storage Exec 5.3 before Hotfix 9 and StorageCentral 5.2 before Hot Fix 2 allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via certain ActiveX controls.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/29/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2005-2996 represents a critical security flaw affecting VERITAS Storage Exec Storage Exec 5.3 and StorageCentral 5.2 software versions prior to their respective hotfixes. This vulnerability manifests through multiple buffer overflow conditions that exist within the DCOM server components of these storage management applications, creating a significant attack surface for remote threat actors. The flaw specifically impacts the ActiveX controls embedded within these systems, which are designed to facilitate web-based management interfaces and remote administration capabilities. These components serve as the primary communication channels between administrators and storage systems, making them attractive targets for exploitation.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves both heap-based and stack-based buffer overflow conditions that occur when processing malformed input data through the ActiveX controls. When these controls receive unvalidated input, they fail to properly bounds-check the data before copying it into fixed-size memory buffers, leading to memory corruption that can be exploited to overwrite adjacent memory locations. The heap-based overflow affects dynamically allocated memory regions while the stack-based overflow targets the program stack, both of which can be manipulated to redirect program execution flow. These buffer overflows fall under the CWE-121 and CWE-122 categories, representing classic buffer overflow vulnerabilities that have been extensively documented in cybersecurity literature and represent fundamental software security weaknesses.
The operational impact of CVE-2005-2996 extends beyond simple data corruption, as successful exploitation can result in complete system compromise and arbitrary code execution. Attackers leveraging this vulnerability can gain unauthorized access to storage management systems, potentially escalating privileges to system-level access and gaining control over critical storage infrastructure. The remote nature of the attack vector means that adversaries do not require physical access to the systems, making these vulnerabilities particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where storage systems are often accessible over network connections. This vulnerability directly aligns with ATT&CK technique T1203, which describes exploitation of software vulnerabilities for privilege escalation and system compromise. The attack can lead to data breaches, storage system manipulation, and disruption of business continuity operations.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately implement the available hotfixes provided by VERITAS, specifically Hotfix 9 for Storage Exec 5.3 and Hot Fix 2 for StorageCentral 5.2, to remediate the buffer overflow conditions. Security teams should also consider implementing network segmentation to limit access to storage management interfaces, deploying intrusion detection systems to monitor for exploitation attempts, and conducting comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify any other potentially affected systems. The remediation process should include thorough testing of the hotfixes in non-production environments before deployment to ensure compatibility with existing storage infrastructure and business applications. Additionally, organizations should review their ActiveX control deployment policies and consider implementing application whitelisting to prevent unauthorized ActiveX controls from executing on managed systems, thereby reducing the attack surface for similar vulnerabilities in the future.