CVE-2005-3144 in sblim-sfcb
Summary
by MITRE
httpAdapter.c in sblim-sfcb before 0.9.2 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via long HTTP headers.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/12/2018
The vulnerability described in CVE-2005-3144 affects the sblim-sfcb software version 0.9.1 and earlier, specifically within the httpAdapter.c component. This issue represents a classic denial of service weakness that exploits the handling of HTTP header data in the software's web server functionality. The sblim-sfcb project provides a CIM (Common Information Model) server implementation that enables system management through the CIM protocol, making it a critical component in enterprise system management infrastructures. The vulnerability manifests when the software receives HTTP requests containing excessively long headers, which causes the system to crash or become unresponsive. This flaw operates at the application layer of the network stack and directly impacts the availability of the CIM server service.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation within the httpAdapter.c file, which processes incoming HTTP requests without proper bounds checking on header length parameters. When an attacker crafts a malicious HTTP request with headers exceeding predetermined length limits, the software fails to handle this condition gracefully. Instead, the system experiences memory corruption or stack overflow conditions that result in immediate termination of the service process. This behavior aligns with CWE-122, which describes buffer overflow conditions in heap-based memory management, though the specific implementation appears to involve stack-based buffer issues common in C language implementations. The vulnerability demonstrates a fundamental lack of robust input sanitization that allows malformed data to propagate through the system without proper error handling mechanisms.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption, as it can be exploited by remote attackers to systematically degrade the availability of critical system management services. In enterprise environments where sblim-sfcb serves as a central CIM server for monitoring and managing IT infrastructure, such a denial of service attack could compromise the entire system management ecosystem. Attackers can exploit this weakness using automated tools to send malformed HTTP requests repeatedly, causing cascading failures that may require manual intervention to restore service. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it does not require authentication or specialized privileges to exploit, making it accessible to any remote attacker with network connectivity to the affected service. This characteristic places the vulnerability in the ATT&CK framework under the T1499 category of "Unauthorized Command Execution" and T1070.004 "Indicator Removal on Host" through potential service disruption.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2005-3144 involve immediate patching of the sblim-sfcb software to version 0.9.2 or later, which contains proper input validation and bounds checking mechanisms. Organizations should implement network-level protections such as rate limiting and connection filtering to prevent excessive header length requests from reaching the vulnerable service. Additionally, deploying intrusion detection systems that can identify and block malformed HTTP traffic patterns provides an additional layer of defense. The fix typically involves implementing proper buffer size validation and graceful error handling for HTTP header processing, ensuring that the software can reject or truncate excessively long headers rather than crashing. Security administrators should also consider implementing monitoring solutions that can detect service disruptions and automatically trigger alerts when unusual patterns of connection failures occur, enabling rapid response to potential exploitation attempts.