CVE-2007-2467 in ZoneAlarm
Summary
by MITRE
ZoneAlarm Pro 6.5.737.000, 6.1.744.001, and possibly earlier versions and other products, allows local users to cause a denial of service (system crash) by sending malformed data to the vsdatant device driver, which causes an invalid memory access.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/30/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2007-2467 represents a critical memory corruption issue within ZoneAlarm Pro firewall software versions 6.5.737.000, 6.1.744.001, and potentially earlier releases. This flaw resides in the vsdatant device driver component that serves as a core element of the firewall's network monitoring capabilities. The vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation mechanisms within the driver's processing logic, specifically when handling data packets received from network interfaces. Attackers exploiting this weakness can craft malicious data payloads that, when processed by the vulnerable driver, trigger unexpected behavior in the system's memory management subsystem.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through a classic buffer overflow or memory access violation scenario where malformed data structures are sent to the vsdatant driver. When the driver attempts to process these invalid data sequences, it fails to properly validate the incoming parameters or memory addresses, leading to an invalid memory access condition. This condition typically manifests as a system crash or blue screen of death, effectively rendering the affected system non-operational. The vulnerability's classification as a local privilege escalation issue means that an attacker must already have access to the system to exploit it, but the impact remains severe as it can completely compromise system availability. This type of vulnerability aligns with CWE-125, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions, and CWE-787, which covers out-of-bounds write conditions, both of which are common in device driver development.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risks to enterprise environments where ZoneAlarm Pro is deployed as a primary security solution. The denial of service impact can disrupt business operations, particularly in scenarios where system uptime is critical for network security monitoring and incident response activities. Organizations relying on this firewall solution may experience unexpected system downtime, potentially creating windows of vulnerability during which network traffic flows unmonitored. The attack vector requires local system access, making it less likely to be exploited remotely, but the potential for privilege escalation remains a concern for environments where multiple users have access to the system. Security teams must consider the broader implications of such vulnerabilities in their attack surface analysis, as they can serve as entry points for more sophisticated attacks or be leveraged as part of a multi-stage exploitation strategy.
The mitigation approach for CVE-2007-2467 involves immediate patching of the affected ZoneAlarm Pro versions, with vendors releasing updated drivers that properly validate input data before processing. System administrators should implement network segmentation to limit local access privileges and reduce the attack surface. Monitoring for unusual system crashes or network activity patterns can help detect exploitation attempts, while implementing proper access controls and user privilege management reduces the likelihood of successful local exploitation. Organizations should also consider alternative firewall solutions if patching is not immediately feasible, as the vulnerability's potential for system instability makes it a high-priority remediation item. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under privilege escalation techniques, specifically focusing on driver-level exploitation methods, which underscores the importance of maintaining up-to-date system components and proper access controls to prevent unauthorized system compromise.