CVE-2007-2137 in Tivoli Monitoring Express
Summary
by MITRE
Heap-based buffer overflow in kde.dll in IBM Tivoli Monitoring Express 6.1.0 before Fix Pack 2, as used in Tivoli Universal Agent, Windows OS Monitoring agent, and Enterprise Portal Server, allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by sending a long string to a certain TCP port.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/08/2017
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2007-2137 represents a critical heap-based buffer overflow in the kde.dll component of IBM Tivoli Monitoring Express 6.1.0, specifically affecting versions prior to Fix Pack 2. This flaw exists within the Windows OS Monitoring agent and Enterprise Portal Server components of the Tivoli Universal Agent suite, creating a significant security risk that can be exploited remotely. The vulnerability manifests when the affected system receives a specially crafted long string through a designated TCP port, which triggers the buffer overflow condition in the heap memory management structure. This particular implementation flaw demonstrates poor input validation and memory handling practices that have been classified under CWE-121, heap-based buffer overflow, which is a well-documented weakness in software security engineering. The attack vector is particularly concerning as it allows remote code execution without requiring any authentication or privileged access, making it a prime target for automated exploitation campaigns.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs when an attacker sends a malformed string of excessive length to a specific TCP port that the vulnerable Tivoli Monitoring agent listens on. The kde.dll library fails to properly validate the length of incoming data before attempting to copy it into a fixed-size buffer allocated on the heap. This fundamental flaw in memory management creates an opportunity for attackers to overwrite adjacent memory locations, potentially corrupting the program's execution flow or injecting malicious code. The heap-based nature of this vulnerability means that the overflow occurs in dynamically allocated memory regions, making it more difficult to predict and exploit compared to stack-based buffer overflows. This type of vulnerability falls under the ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for command and scripting interpreter, as successful exploitation would enable adversaries to execute arbitrary code on the target system with the privileges of the monitoring agent process, typically running with elevated permissions. The impact extends beyond simple code execution to potentially allow full system compromise, especially when the monitoring agent operates with administrative privileges.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe for organizations relying on IBM Tivoli Monitoring Express for system monitoring and management. The affected systems, including Windows OS Monitoring agents and Enterprise Portal Servers, serve as critical infrastructure components that monitor and report on system health, performance, and security status. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability can gain unauthorized access to these monitoring systems, potentially leading to complete system compromise or the ability to manipulate monitoring data to hide malicious activities. The vulnerability affects multiple deployment scenarios within the Tivoli ecosystem, making it a widespread concern across organizations that have deployed these monitoring agents across their network infrastructure. Organizations may experience unauthorized access to sensitive operational data, disruption of monitoring services, and potential lateral movement within their network as attackers use the compromised monitoring systems as a foothold for further attacks. The vulnerability's remote exploitability means that attackers can target these systems from outside the network perimeter, eliminating the need for physical access or network compromise to initiate the attack. This characteristic aligns with ATT&CK technique T1190 for exploit public-facing application, highlighting the risk to publicly accessible monitoring services that may be exposed to the internet.
Organizations should prioritize immediate remediation through the application of IBM Fix Pack 2 or later versions that address this heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability. The mitigation strategy should include comprehensive network segmentation to limit access to the vulnerable TCP ports, implementing network access controls to restrict connections to monitoring agents, and deploying intrusion detection systems to monitor for exploitation attempts. Regular vulnerability assessments should be conducted to identify any other potentially vulnerable components within the Tivoli Monitoring infrastructure, as this vulnerability may be indicative of broader security weaknesses in the system's memory management practices. Additionally, organizations should implement robust monitoring and logging for the affected components to detect any unauthorized access attempts or exploitation activities. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the importance of regular patch management and the need for security-focused development practices that include proper input validation and memory safety checks. System administrators should also consider implementing network-based firewalls and access control lists to restrict communication to the vulnerable TCP ports only to trusted administrative systems, reducing the attack surface and limiting the potential impact of successful exploitation attempts.