CVE-2006-0475 in PHP-Ping
Summary
by MITRE
PHP-Ping 1.3 does not properly validate ping counts, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (ping flood) via a negative count parameter.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/18/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2006-0475 affects PHP-Ping version 1.3 and represents a classic input validation flaw that can be exploited to execute denial of service attacks. This issue stems from the application's failure to properly validate user-supplied ping count parameters, creating an opportunity for malicious actors to manipulate the system's resource consumption patterns. The vulnerability specifically targets the ping count parameter which controls how many ping requests are executed during a network diagnostic operation, making it a critical vector for resource exhaustion attacks.
The technical flaw manifests when the application accepts a negative value for the ping count parameter without proper validation or sanitization. When a negative number is provided, the system interprets this value in a way that causes it to execute an excessive number of ping operations or loop indefinitely, consuming system resources such as CPU cycles, memory, and network bandwidth. This behavior directly violates the principle of input validation and can be categorized under CWE-191 Integer Underflow, where an integer value becomes negative due to improper validation, leading to unexpected program behavior. The vulnerability demonstrates poor defensive programming practices where the application fails to implement proper bounds checking and input sanitization mechanisms.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability creates significant security implications for systems running the affected PHP-Ping application. Attackers can exploit this weakness to launch ping flood attacks that consume excessive system resources, potentially leading to complete service unavailability for legitimate users. The denial of service impact is particularly concerning because it can be executed remotely without requiring authentication, making it accessible to any attacker with network access to the vulnerable system. This type of attack aligns with the attack pattern described in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the T1499.004 technique for Network Denial of Service, where adversaries leverage application-level vulnerabilities to exhaust system resources.
The exploitation of this vulnerability typically involves sending a specially crafted request containing a negative ping count value to the vulnerable application. The system processes this input without validation, leading to resource exhaustion through either infinite loops or excessive ping operations that overwhelm the target system. This behavior can be particularly devastating in environments where the ping functionality is frequently used or when the application runs with elevated privileges, as the resource consumption can quickly escalate to system-wide impacts. Organizations should consider this vulnerability as part of their broader security posture assessment, particularly in environments where network diagnostic tools are exposed to untrusted networks.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2006-0475 should focus on implementing proper input validation and sanitization mechanisms within the PHP-Ping application. The most effective approach involves adding strict validation checks to ensure that ping count parameters are positive integers within acceptable ranges before processing. This can be achieved through defensive programming practices that include bounds checking, type validation, and input sanitization routines. Additionally, system administrators should consider implementing rate limiting and resource monitoring to detect and prevent abnormal resource consumption patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability highlights the importance of following secure coding practices and input validation standards, as recommended by various security frameworks including the OWASP Top Ten and NIST cybersecurity guidelines, which emphasize the critical need for proper input validation to prevent a wide range of injection and resource exhaustion attacks. Organizations should also consider upgrading to newer versions of the PHP-Ping application that address this vulnerability through proper parameter validation and sanitization mechanisms.