CVE-2006-6904 in Bluetooth stack
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in the Broadcom Bluetooth stack allows remote attackers to gain administrative access (aka Remote Root) via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/30/2017
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2006-6904 represents a critical security flaw within the Broadcom Bluetooth stack implementation that exposes systems to remote privilege escalation attacks. This unspecified vulnerability specifically targets the underlying Bluetooth protocol stack components developed by Broadcom, which are widely deployed across various operating systems and embedded devices. The flaw enables remote attackers to achieve administrative access to affected systems, effectively granting them root-level privileges without requiring local access or authentication credentials. The vulnerability's classification as a remote root access vector indicates that attackers can exploit this weakness from external networks without needing physical proximity to the target device. This type of vulnerability fundamentally undermines the security model of Bluetooth-enabled systems and represents a significant risk to enterprise and consumer environments where Bluetooth connectivity is prevalent.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and access control mechanisms within the Broadcom Bluetooth stack components. Attackers can leverage this weakness through unspecified attack vectors that likely involve crafted Bluetooth packets or malformed communication sequences designed to trigger buffer overflows, privilege escalation conditions, or authentication bypass mechanisms within the stack implementation. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple data theft or system disruption, as successful exploitation results in complete system compromise with administrative privileges. This type of flaw typically originates from inadequate security testing during development phases or insufficient adherence to secure coding practices. The vulnerability demonstrates weaknesses in the Bluetooth stack's privilege management and authentication processes, where legitimate Bluetooth communication sequences can be manipulated to execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses severe risks to organizations relying on Bluetooth connectivity for device management, wireless communication, or IoT deployments. Systems affected by this vulnerability include but are not limited to laptops, mobile devices, embedded systems, and network infrastructure components that utilize Broadcom Bluetooth chipsets. The remote exploitation capability means that adversaries can target vulnerable systems from anywhere on the internet, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous for enterprise environments where Bluetooth-enabled devices are frequently connected to corporate networks. Security incidents resulting from this vulnerability could lead to complete network compromise, data breaches, unauthorized access to sensitive systems, and potential lateral movement within affected networks. The widespread adoption of Broadcom Bluetooth chipsets across multiple device categories amplifies the potential impact, as this vulnerability could affect numerous endpoints simultaneously.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2006-6904 should prioritize immediate patch deployment from Broadcom and operating system vendors, as this vulnerability represents a critical security risk requiring urgent attention. Organizations should implement network segmentation to limit Bluetooth connectivity to essential systems and disable Bluetooth functionality on devices where it is not required for operations. Network monitoring solutions should be enhanced to detect anomalous Bluetooth traffic patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. Security teams should conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify all affected systems and prioritize remediation efforts based on risk exposure. The implementation of Bluetooth access controls, including disabling automatic pairing and implementing strong authentication requirements, can help reduce the attack surface. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-284 (Improper Access Control) and CWE-119 (Improper Access Control) categories, and maps to ATT&CK techniques involving privilege escalation and remote code execution. Organizations should also consider implementing endpoint detection and response solutions specifically designed to monitor Bluetooth stack behavior for signs of exploitation attempts.