CVE-2006-5715 in Easy Address Book
Summary
by MITRE
Easy File Sharing (EFS) Easy Address Book 1.2, when run on an NTFS file system, allows remote attackers to read arbitrary files under the web root by appending "::$DATA" to the end of an HTTP GET request, which accesses the alternate data stream.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/26/2026
This vulnerability exists in Easy File Sharing Easy Address Book version 1.2 which operates on NTFS file systems and represents a critical information disclosure flaw that enables remote attackers to access arbitrary files through manipulated HTTP requests. The vulnerability specifically exploits the Windows NTFS alternate data streams feature, which allows multiple data streams to be associated with a single file. When the application processes HTTP GET requests, it fails to properly validate or sanitize input parameters, allowing attackers to append the "::DATA" suffix to file paths, thereby gaining access to alternate data streams that contain sensitive information.
The technical mechanism of this exploit leverages the inherent characteristics of NTFS file systems where files can have multiple data streams including the primary stream and one or more alternate data streams. When an attacker constructs a malicious HTTP request by appending "::DATA" to a file path, the application inadvertently accesses these alternate streams without proper authorization checks. This behavior violates fundamental security principles of access control and input validation, as the application does not properly distinguish between legitimate file access requests and malicious attempts to enumerate or retrieve data from alternate streams. The vulnerability specifically affects the web root directory where the application operates, potentially exposing sensitive configuration files, user data, or system information that might be stored in alternate data streams.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability allows attackers to extract sensitive data from the target system without requiring authentication or elevated privileges. The attacker can enumerate and retrieve arbitrary files that may contain database credentials, configuration settings, user information, or other confidential data stored in the alternate data streams. This represents a severe information disclosure vulnerability that could lead to further compromise of the system, as the retrieved data might contain passwords, encryption keys, or other sensitive information that could be used for privilege escalation or additional attacks. The vulnerability's remote nature makes it particularly dangerous as it can be exploited from any location without requiring physical access to the system.
The exploit demonstrates a clear violation of security controls related to input validation and access control, which aligns with CWE-20: Improper Input Validation and CWE-284: Improper Access Control. This vulnerability also maps to ATT&CK technique T1005: Data from Local System, where adversaries extract data from compromised systems. The vulnerability highlights the importance of proper file system access controls and input sanitization in web applications. Organizations should implement strict input validation mechanisms that prevent the injection of NTFS-specific file system syntax into file path parameters. Additionally, the vulnerability underscores the need for proper file system permissions and the implementation of least privilege principles when running web applications on NTFS file systems. System administrators should also consider disabling alternate data stream functionality for web applications when possible, and implement proper network segmentation to limit the impact of such vulnerabilities. Regular security assessments should include testing for similar file system traversal vulnerabilities, particularly in applications that handle file operations on Windows systems.