CVE-2007-0410 in WebLogic Server
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in the thread management in BEA WebLogic 7.0 through 7.0 SP6, 8.1 through 8.1 SP5, 9.0, and 9.1, when T3 authentication is used, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (thread and system hang) via unspecified "sequences of events."
Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/16/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2007-0410 represents a critical thread management flaw within BEA WebLogic Server versions spanning 7.0 through 7.0 SP6, 8.1 through 8.1 SP5, 9.0, and 9.1. This issue specifically manifests when the T3 protocol authentication mechanism is employed, creating a pathway for remote attackers to exploit the system's threading architecture. The vulnerability falls under the category of unspecified weakness in thread management systems, which can be categorized under CWE-470, "Use of Externally-Controlled Input for Resource Access," and CWE-674, "Uncontrolled Resource Consumption." The T3 protocol serves as a binary communication protocol used by WebLogic for client-server communication and administrative operations, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous as it can be leveraged from remote locations without requiring authentication.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability involves triggering specific sequences of events that cause the WebLogic server to enter a state of thread exhaustion or system hang. When T3 authentication is utilized, the server's thread management subsystem becomes vulnerable to manipulation through carefully crafted sequences that can cause threads to become blocked or consumed in an unrecoverable state. This behavior creates a denial of service condition where legitimate users cannot access the application services, and the system may become unresponsive or require manual restart to recover. The vulnerability demonstrates characteristics consistent with resource exhaustion attacks and thread manipulation techniques that align with ATT&CK tactics such as T1499.004, "Endpoint Denial of Service," and T1070.006, "Indicator Removal on Host."
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption to potentially compromise the entire application availability and system stability. Organizations running affected WebLogic versions may experience complete service outages during exploitation, with recovery requiring either system reboot or manual thread cleanup operations that can take significant time. The remote nature of the attack means that adversaries can exploit this vulnerability from outside the network perimeter, making it particularly dangerous for publicly accessible web applications. System administrators may observe increased thread counts, application timeouts, and overall performance degradation before the complete system hang occurs, providing some detection opportunities but often too late for effective mitigation. The vulnerability affects enterprise applications that rely heavily on WebLogic's threading model for concurrent request processing, potentially impacting critical business operations and customer access to services.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should include immediate patching of affected WebLogic versions to the latest available security updates from Oracle, which would address the underlying thread management flaws. Organizations should also implement network segmentation to limit access to WebLogic servers and disable T3 protocol usage where possible, particularly in externally accessible environments. Monitoring for unusual thread behavior and implementing automated alerting for high thread count conditions can help detect exploitation attempts before complete system compromise occurs. Additionally, implementing proper access controls and authentication mechanisms for T3 protocol usage, combined with regular security assessments and penetration testing, would provide defense-in-depth approaches to protecting against this and similar vulnerabilities. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper resource management and thread lifecycle handling in enterprise application servers, highlighting the need for robust security testing of core system components.