CVE-2007-1426 in AstroCam
Summary
by MITRE
The web interface in AstroCam 2.0.0 through 2.6.5 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (daemon shutdown) via requests that contain a large amount of data in the "a" variable, which "fills up the message queue."
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/26/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2007-1426 represents a critical denial of service weakness within the web interface of AstroCam software versions 2.0.0 through 2.6.5. This flaw resides in the application's handling of user input through the "a" parameter, which serves as a critical entry point for remote attackers to exploit the system. The vulnerability operates under the principle of resource exhaustion, where malicious actors can flood the system with excessive data through a single parameter, ultimately leading to daemon shutdown and complete service disruption. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-400 category of Uncontrolled Resource Consumption, specifically manifesting as a denial of service attack that targets the application's message queue mechanism.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability exploits the lack of proper input validation and sanitization within the AstroCam web interface. When an attacker submits a request containing an excessive amount of data in the "a" variable, the system processes this input without adequate bounds checking or data size limitations. The application's message queue, which serves as a temporary storage mechanism for processing incoming requests, becomes overwhelmed with the oversized data payload. This overflow condition causes the queue to reach its capacity limits, triggering a cascade of failures that ultimately results in the daemon process shutting down completely. The vulnerability demonstrates a classic buffer overflow pattern where the system cannot handle the volume of data it receives, leading to resource exhaustion and system instability.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents a severe risk to organizations relying on AstroCam for surveillance and monitoring purposes. The remote nature of the attack means that adversaries can exploit this weakness from anywhere on the network without requiring physical access or local credentials. The daemon shutdown resulting from this vulnerability effectively renders the surveillance system inoperable, creating significant security gaps during the period when the service is unavailable. This type of attack directly impacts the availability component of the CIA triad, compromising the system's ability to provide continuous monitoring services. The attack vector aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.004 for network denial of service, where adversaries target system resources to prevent legitimate use.
The impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption to encompass broader operational security implications. Organizations may experience extended downtime while system administrators work to restore services, potentially leaving critical monitoring areas unprotected during the recovery period. The vulnerability's persistence across multiple versions of the software suggests a fundamental flaw in the application's architecture that was not adequately addressed through patch releases. Security teams must consider this weakness as part of their broader threat landscape assessment, particularly when evaluating the security posture of legacy surveillance systems. The resource exhaustion nature of this vulnerability also makes it particularly difficult to detect through normal monitoring procedures, as the system appears to be functioning normally until the point of failure occurs.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2007-1426 should focus on implementing robust input validation and rate limiting mechanisms within the web interface. Organizations should deploy proper data size restrictions for all parameters, particularly those handling user input such as the "a" variable in this case. Implementing message queue monitoring and automatic restart procedures can help reduce the impact of successful attacks by enabling faster recovery times. Network-level protections including firewall rules and intrusion detection systems should be configured to monitor for unusual traffic patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. The recommended approach aligns with security best practices outlined in NIST SP 800-34 and ISO 27001 frameworks, emphasizing the importance of input validation and resource management in preventing denial of service attacks. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing application firewalls or web application firewalls specifically designed to detect and block malformed requests targeting known vulnerability patterns. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify similar weaknesses in other legacy systems that may be susceptible to similar resource exhaustion attacks.