CVE-2006-5861 in Metaframe Presentation Server
Summary
by MITRE
The Independent Management Architecture (IMA) service (ImaSrv.exe) in Citrix MetaFrame XP 1.0 and 2.0, and Presentation Server 3.0 and 4.0, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (service exit) via a crafted packet that causes the service to access an unmapped memory address and triggers an unhandled exception.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/27/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2006-5861 resides within the Independent Management Architecture service component of Citrix MetaFrame and Presentation Server products, specifically affecting versions 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0. This flaw represents a critical security weakness in the remote management capabilities of these enterprise virtualization platforms, where the ImaSrv.exe process serves as the primary interface for system administration and monitoring functions. The vulnerability manifests when the service receives specially crafted network packets that exploit memory management flaws in the application's handling of incoming data, creating a scenario where legitimate service operations become compromised through malicious input.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through a memory access violation that results in an unhandled exception within the ImaSrv.exe process. When the service processes malformed packets, it attempts to access memory addresses that have not been properly mapped or allocated, leading to a segmentation fault or access violation error. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-125 weakness category, which specifically addresses out-of-bounds read conditions where programs attempt to access memory locations beyond their allocated boundaries. The flaw demonstrates characteristics consistent with improper input validation and memory management practices, where the service fails to properly sanitize or validate incoming network traffic before processing it within the application's memory space.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption to potentially compromise the entire Citrix server infrastructure. Remote attackers can leverage this weakness to initiate denial of service attacks that cause the ImaSrv.exe service to terminate unexpectedly, effectively removing the system from management capabilities and potentially disrupting critical business applications that depend on these virtualization platforms. This service interruption creates cascading effects throughout enterprise environments where Citrix solutions are deployed for remote desktop and application virtualization services, as administrators lose the ability to monitor, manage, or troubleshoot the affected systems. The vulnerability's remote exploitability means that attackers do not require physical access or local credentials to trigger the service failure, making it particularly dangerous in networked environments.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including network segmentation to restrict access to the ImaSrv.exe service ports, deployment of network access controls to limit who can communicate with the affected systems, and application-level firewall rules to filter malformed packets. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under the T1499 technique for network denial of service, where adversaries leverage weaknesses in network services to disrupt availability. Additionally, system administrators should consider implementing intrusion detection systems to monitor for suspicious packet patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts, and establish robust patch management procedures to ensure timely deployment of vendor security updates. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of proper input validation and memory management practices in enterprise software development, particularly for services that operate in network-accessible environments where they must process untrusted data from external sources.