CVE-2007-0627 in gtalkbot
Summary
by MITRE
Michael Still gtalkbot before 1.2 places username and password arguments on the command line, which allows local users to obtain sensitive information by listing the process.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/18/2018
The vulnerability described in CVE-2007-0627 affects the gtalkbot application version 1.2 and earlier, where sensitive authentication credentials are exposed through command line arguments. This flaw represents a critical security weakness that directly violates fundamental principles of secure credential handling and process management. The issue stems from the application's design decision to pass username and password parameters directly as command line arguments during execution, creating an easily accessible attack vector for local adversaries.
This vulnerability manifests as a command line exposure issue that falls under the category of information disclosure through process enumeration. When the gtalkbot application runs, the command line arguments containing authentication credentials become visible to any local user who can list running processes on the system. This exposure occurs because command line arguments are typically stored in the process table and can be accessed through standard system utilities such as ps, tasklist, or similar process monitoring tools. The flaw represents a classic example of poor input sanitization and credential management practices, where sensitive data is unnecessarily exposed in an unsecured manner.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant and multifaceted. Local attackers with basic system access can easily retrieve authentication credentials by simply examining running processes, potentially gaining unauthorized access to Google Talk accounts and associated services. This vulnerability directly enables privilege escalation attacks and credential theft scenarios that can lead to broader system compromise. The exposure persists throughout the entire runtime of the application, creating an ongoing security risk that cannot be mitigated through simple restarts or temporary fixes.
From a cybersecurity framework perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-255 Credentials Management and CWE-312 Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information. It also corresponds to ATT&CK technique T1552.001 for Unsecured Credentials and T1059.003 for Command and Scripting Interpreter. The flaw demonstrates a fundamental failure in secure coding practices and violates security best practices outlined in NIST SP 800-160 and ISO/IEC 27001 standards for secure software development. Organizations using affected versions of gtalkbot face potential data breaches, unauthorized access to communication channels, and possible regulatory compliance violations.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate remediation through updating to version 1.2 or later, which presumably addresses the command line argument handling issue. Additional protective measures include implementing proper credential management through environment variables, configuration files with restricted permissions, or secure credential storage mechanisms. System administrators should conduct thorough audits to identify any instances of the vulnerable application and ensure that process monitoring is properly restricted. The vulnerability highlights the importance of secure coding practices and proper input validation, emphasizing that sensitive information should never be passed through command line arguments or exposed in process tables where it can be easily enumerated by unauthorized users.