CVE-2007-2977 in DOMjudge
Summary
by MITRE
Buffer overflow in the receive function in submit/submitcommon.c in the submit daemon in DOMjudge before 2.0.0RC1 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service or have other unspecified impact. NOTE: some of these details are obtained from third party information.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/19/2017
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2007-2977 represents a critical buffer overflow flaw within the DOMjudge submission daemon software, specifically affecting versions prior to 2.0.0RC1. This issue resides in the receive function of the submitcommon.c file within the submit daemon component, making it a significant security concern for any system utilizing this judging platform. The buffer overflow vulnerability occurs during the processing of incoming data submissions, creating potential attack vectors that could compromise system integrity and availability.
The technical implementation of this flaw stems from inadequate input validation within the receive function, which fails to properly check the length of incoming data before copying it into fixed-size buffers. This classic buffer overflow condition allows malicious actors to overwrite adjacent memory locations, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution or system crashes. The vulnerability specifically impacts the submit daemon process that handles contestant submissions, making it a direct target for remote exploitation attempts. The flaw operates at the application layer and can be triggered through network-based attacks without requiring local system access, making it particularly dangerous in networked environments.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service conditions, as the unspecified additional impacts mentioned in the description suggest potential for more severe consequences including system compromise or data integrity violations. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to disrupt the judging process, potentially affecting competitive programming events or educational environments where DOMjudge is deployed. The buffer overflow creates instability in the submission daemon, which could result in complete service interruption, making legitimate users unable to submit solutions or receive results. This type of vulnerability directly affects the availability and reliability of the judging infrastructure, which is critical for competitive programming platforms.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2007-2977 should prioritize immediate software updates to version 2.0.0RC1 or later, which contains the necessary patches to address the buffer overflow condition. System administrators should implement network segmentation to limit access to the submit daemon ports and consider deploying intrusion detection systems to monitor for exploitation attempts. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-121, which categorizes buffer overflow conditions in stack-based buffers, and represents a clear violation of secure coding practices that should be addressed through proper input validation and memory management. Organizations should also implement application firewalls and consider code reviews to prevent similar issues in custom implementations. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this as a denial of service attack vector that could potentially lead to privilege escalation if exploited successfully, emphasizing the need for comprehensive security measures beyond simple patching.