CVE-2007-2246 in HP-UX
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in HP-UX B.11.00 and B.11.11, when running sendmail 8.9.3 or 8.11.1; and HP-UX B.11.23 when running sendmail 8.11.1; allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via unknown attack vectors. NOTE: due to the lack of details from HP, it is not known whether this issue is a duplicate of another CVE such as CVE-2006-1173 or CVE-2006-4434.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/24/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2007-2246 represents a significant security concern affecting multiple versions of HP-UX operating systems when running specific iterations of the sendmail mail transfer agent. This issue manifests as an unspecified weakness that can be exploited remotely to induce a denial of service condition, effectively disrupting legitimate mail services and potentially impacting broader network operations. The affected configurations include HP-UX B.11.00 and B.11.11 systems running sendmail versions 8.9.3 and 8.11.1, alongside HP-UX B.11.23 systems operating with sendmail 8.11.1. The ambiguity surrounding the precise attack vectors stems from insufficient information provided by Hewlett-Packard, which complicates the development of targeted defensive measures and leaves security professionals uncertain about the full scope of potential exploitation methods.
The technical nature of this vulnerability places it within the realm of denial of service attacks, which can be categorized under CWE-400 as unspecified weaknesses that lead to system unavailability. The attack vectors remain unspecified, making this vulnerability particularly challenging to assess and defend against, as security teams cannot determine whether the weakness stems from buffer overflows, memory corruption, improper input validation, or other underlying mechanisms. This lack of clarity also raises questions about potential overlap with other known vulnerabilities, particularly CVE-2006-1173 and CVE-2006-4434, which suggests that the issue might represent a previously identified weakness that was not properly catalogued or that represents a distinct but related vulnerability in the sendmail implementation. The remote exploit capability indicates that attackers do not require local access or physical presence, making the vulnerability particularly dangerous in networked environments where sendmail serves as a critical communication infrastructure component.
The operational impact of CVE-2007-2246 extends beyond simple service disruption, as email systems form the backbone of numerous business communications and automated processes. When sendmail experiences a denial of service condition, it can halt email delivery, prevent system administrative notifications, and potentially disrupt critical business operations that depend on email infrastructure. The vulnerability affects multiple HP-UX versions, suggesting a widespread potential impact across different system generations and indicating that the underlying flaw in the sendmail implementation has persisted across several releases. Organizations running these affected configurations face the risk of extended downtime, increased administrative overhead for system monitoring, and potential cascading effects on other services that depend on proper email functionality. The remote nature of the attack vector means that systems can be compromised from anywhere on the network, making traditional perimeter security measures insufficient for protection.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate attention and comprehensive system hardening approaches. Organizations should prioritize applying available patches and updates from Hewlett-Packard, though the unspecified nature of the vulnerability may delay or complicate patch development efforts. Network segmentation and access controls should be implemented to limit exposure of affected systems, while monitoring systems should be enhanced to detect unusual email service behavior or potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability's relationship to other CVEs suggests that organizations should conduct thorough vulnerability assessments to identify any overlapping weaknesses and ensure comprehensive remediation. Security teams should also consider implementing intrusion detection systems specifically configured to monitor for sendmail-related anomalies and establish incident response procedures for rapid deployment when service disruptions occur. Given the potential for this vulnerability to represent a broader class of issues in sendmail implementations, organizations should evaluate their overall mail server security posture and consider alternative mail handling solutions if the risk cannot be adequately mitigated through patching and configuration changes.