CVE-2005-4014 in Statistik
Summary
by MITRE
stat.php in PHP Web Statistik 1.4 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (CPU consumption) via a large lastnumber value.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/14/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2005-4014 affects PHP Web Statistik version 1.4 and specifically targets the stat.php script. This issue represents a classic denial of service vulnerability that exploits improper input validation mechanisms within the application's statistical tracking functionality. The flaw occurs when the application processes a malformed lastnumber parameter value, leading to excessive cpu consumption that can effectively render the system unavailable to legitimate users. The vulnerability resides in the application's handling of numeric input values without adequate bounds checking or sanitization procedures.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability demonstrates a lack of proper parameter validation within the stat.php script where the lastnumber value is directly processed without appropriate range or type checking. When an attacker submits an excessively large numeric value for the lastnumber parameter, the application's statistical processing algorithms begin to consume disproportionate cpu cycles as they attempt to handle the malformed input. This behavior aligns with CWE-770, which describes allocation of resources without proper limits or controls, and represents a form of resource exhaustion attack that can be classified under the broader category of denial of service conditions. The vulnerability specifically manifests through the application's statistical processing loop where it attempts to calculate or track statistics based on the provided numeric value, causing the system to consume escalating cpu resources proportional to the input size.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents a significant risk to web server availability and performance. Attackers can leverage this weakness to consume system resources continuously, potentially leading to complete service disruption for legitimate users who rely on the statistical tracking functionality. The impact extends beyond simple service interruption as the excessive cpu consumption can affect other applications running on the same server infrastructure, creating cascading effects that may compromise overall system stability and performance. The vulnerability operates at the application layer and does not require authentication, making it particularly dangerous as any remote attacker can exploit it without prior access credentials. This characteristic aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.004 which describes network denial of service attacks through resource exhaustion.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on implementing robust input validation and sanitization mechanisms within the stat.php script. The most effective approach involves adding proper bounds checking for the lastnumber parameter to ensure that values fall within expected ranges before processing begins. Additionally, implementing rate limiting and resource consumption monitoring can help detect and prevent abuse of the statistical tracking functionality. The application should also be updated to a newer version of PHP Web Statistik that addresses this specific vulnerability, as the original version 1.4 likely contains multiple other security weaknesses that could be exploited in combination. System administrators should also consider implementing network-level protections such as firewalls or intrusion detection systems that can monitor for suspicious parameter values and automatically block or limit requests that appear malicious. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of validating all external inputs and implementing proper resource limits to prevent exploitation of resource exhaustion attacks that can compromise system availability and performance.