CVE-2006-5273 in ePolicy Orchestrator
Summary
by MITRE
Heap-based buffer overflow in McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator 3.5 through 3.6.1, ProtectionPilot 1.1.1 and 1.5, and Common Management Agent (CMA) 3.5.5.438 through 3.6.0.453 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted packet.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/22/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2006-5273 represents a critical heap-based buffer overflow affecting multiple McAfee security products including ePolicy Orchestrator versions 3.5 through 3.6.1, ProtectionPilot versions 1.1.1 and 1.5, and Common Management Agent versions 3.5.5.438 through 3.6.0.453. This flaw resides in the network protocol handling mechanisms of these security solutions, specifically within their packet processing components that manage communication between security agents and management servers. The vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and memory management practices that fail to properly bounds-check data received from network sources, creating opportunities for malicious actors to exploit memory corruption patterns that can lead to arbitrary code execution. The heap-based nature of this vulnerability indicates that the buffer overflow occurs within the heap memory segment rather than stack memory, making exploitation more complex but potentially more reliable in certain attack scenarios.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves network packet parsing routines that do not adequately validate the length or content of incoming data streams before copying them into fixed-size heap buffers. When a maliciously crafted packet is received by any of the affected McAfee products, the system attempts to process the oversized data payload without proper boundary checks, causing the heap memory allocation to be exceeded and potentially overwriting adjacent memory regions. This memory corruption can be leveraged by attackers to manipulate program execution flow, inject malicious code, or cause system instability. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it affects core management components that typically operate with elevated privileges and have network accessibility, making remote exploitation feasible from external network positions. This aligns with CWE-121, which describes heap-based buffer overflow conditions, and represents a classic example of memory safety issues that have plagued networked security applications for years.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple code execution, as it fundamentally compromises the integrity and availability of security infrastructure. Organizations relying on these affected McAfee products face potential complete system compromise, data exfiltration, and disruption of security monitoring capabilities. Attackers could exploit this vulnerability to gain unauthorized access to security management systems, potentially allowing them to manipulate security policies, disable protection mechanisms, or establish persistent backdoors within the network infrastructure. The distributed nature of these products means that successful exploitation could affect multiple systems simultaneously, potentially compromising entire security ecosystems. From an adversary perspective, this vulnerability maps to several ATT&CK techniques including T1059 for command and control execution, T1070 for indicator removal, and T1105 for remote access tools. The vulnerability affects the foundational security posture of organizations, as it targets management components that are essential for maintaining security controls across enterprise networks.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate patching of all affected McAfee products to the latest available versions that contain memory safety improvements and input validation fixes. Organizations should implement network segmentation and access controls to limit exposure of affected systems to untrusted networks, particularly focusing on management interfaces and communication ports used by the Common Management Agent. Network monitoring should be enhanced to detect anomalous packet patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts, with specific attention to malformed packets targeting the vulnerable components. Security teams should conduct thorough vulnerability assessments to identify all instances of the affected software versions and ensure proper patch management processes are in place. Additionally, implementing intrusion detection systems with signatures specific to this vulnerability can provide early warning of exploitation attempts, while regular security audits should verify that patched systems remain secure against similar memory corruption vulnerabilities. Organizations should also consider implementing network-based firewalls and access control lists to restrict communication between management agents and potential attack sources, reducing the attack surface for this and similar vulnerabilities.