CVE-2006-6475 in First Response
Summary
by MITRE
FRAgent.exe in Mandiant First Response (MFR) before 1.1.1, when run in daemon mode with SSL enabled, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (refused connections) via malformed requests, which results in a mishandled exception.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/12/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2006-6475 affects Mandiant First Response (MFR) software version 1.1.0 and earlier, specifically impacting the FRAgent.exe component when operating in daemon mode with SSL encryption enabled. This represents a significant security weakness that could be exploited by remote attackers to disrupt service availability. The flaw manifests when the system processes malformed requests that are not properly handled within the exception handling mechanisms, leading to service termination and refused connections that effectively deny legitimate user access.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and exception handling within the FRAgent.exe daemon process. When SSL is enabled, the system expects properly formatted requests that conform to established protocols, but malformed requests bypass normal validation procedures and trigger unhandled exceptions. This class of vulnerability aligns with CWE-400, which covers "Uncontrolled Resource Consumption" and specifically addresses situations where applications fail to properly handle exceptional conditions. The exception handling mechanism in MFR fails to gracefully process malformed inputs, causing the daemon to crash or become unresponsive, thereby creating a denial of service condition that prevents legitimate users from establishing connections to the service.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses substantial risk to organizations relying on Mandiant First Response for incident response and digital forensics activities. The denial of service attack can be executed remotely without requiring authentication, making it particularly dangerous in environments where the service might be exposed to untrusted networks. The impact extends beyond simple connectivity issues as the service disruption could prevent security teams from performing critical forensic analysis or incident response activities during active security events. Organizations using this software in production environments may face operational disruptions that could compromise their ability to respond to security incidents effectively, potentially leading to extended downtime and increased risk exposure.
The attack vector for this vulnerability is particularly concerning as it requires no authentication credentials and can be executed over the network, making it accessible to any remote attacker with knowledge of the target system's network presence. The exploit typically involves sending malformed requests to the SSL-enabled daemon port, which triggers the exception handling failure. This vulnerability demonstrates poor defensive programming practices and highlights the importance of implementing robust input validation and exception handling mechanisms. Organizations should consider implementing network segmentation to limit exposure of the affected service, deploying intrusion detection systems to monitor for suspicious traffic patterns, and ensuring immediate patching of affected systems to prevent exploitation. The vulnerability also underscores the need for proper security testing during software development phases, particularly for services that operate in daemon mode and handle network traffic, as recommended by the ATT&CK framework's defense evasion and service execution techniques.