CVE-2006-3856 in Informix Dynamic Server
Summary
by MITRE
IBM Informix Dynamic Server (IDS) before 9.40.xC7 and 10.00 before 10.00.xC3 allows local users to cause a denial of service (crash) via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/24/2019
IBM Informix Dynamic Server represents a critical enterprise database management system that has been subject to various security vulnerabilities over its lifecycle. The specific vulnerability identified as CVE-2006-3856 targets versions prior to 9.40.xC7 and 10.00.xC3, creating a significant risk for organizations relying on these older versions. This vulnerability specifically enables local users to execute denial of service attacks that can crash the database server, effectively rendering critical business applications inaccessible and disrupting operational continuity. The unspecified vectors suggest that the flaw may manifest through multiple attack pathways within the server's internal processing mechanisms, making it particularly challenging to defend against and remediate. The vulnerability affects the fundamental stability of the database infrastructure, potentially causing cascading failures across dependent systems that rely on database connectivity for their operations.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and error handling within the IDS server components. Local users with access to the system can exploit this weakness through various means that ultimately lead to process termination or system instability. This type of vulnerability typically falls under the category of software fault tolerance issues and can be classified as a weakness in the application's ability to handle unexpected inputs or conditions. The flaw represents a failure in the system's robustness and resilience mechanisms, which are essential for maintaining service availability in enterprise environments. When exploited, the vulnerability can cause the database server to terminate unexpectedly, requiring manual intervention to restore service availability and potentially resulting in data consistency issues or loss of transactions that were in progress.
From an operational perspective, the impact of CVE-2006-3856 extends beyond simple service interruption to encompass broader business continuity concerns. Organizations running affected IDS versions face the risk of production system outages that can severely impact customer-facing applications, financial systems, and operational workflows that depend on database availability. The local privilege escalation aspect means that even users with limited access rights can potentially cause significant disruption, making this vulnerability particularly concerning for environments with multiple user accounts or shared system access. The vulnerability's exploitation can result in extended downtime for database services, requiring system administrators to perform restart procedures and potentially investigate data integrity issues. This type of denial of service vulnerability directly impacts the availability component of the CIA triad and can lead to substantial financial losses through business interruption and the costs associated with system recovery and investigation.
The mitigation strategies for this vulnerability primarily focus on immediate version upgrades to patched releases of IBM Informix Dynamic Server. Organizations should prioritize upgrading to versions 9.40.xC7 or later and 10.00.xC3 or later to eliminate the risk of exploitation. Additionally, system administrators should implement monitoring solutions to detect unusual process termination patterns or system instability that might indicate exploitation attempts. Network segmentation and access controls can help limit local user access to database servers, reducing the attack surface for potential exploitation. The vulnerability's classification under CWE categories related to insufficient error handling and resource management highlights the importance of robust software quality assurance practices in database development. Organizations should also consider implementing automated patch management processes to ensure timely deployment of security updates and maintain awareness of other potential vulnerabilities in their database infrastructure. This vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical importance of maintaining current software versions and implementing comprehensive security monitoring strategies in enterprise database environments.