CVE-2007-3087 in Peercast
Summary
by MITRE
Peercast places a cleartext password in a query string, which might allow attackers to obtain sensitive information by sniffing the network, or obtaining Referer or browser history information.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/24/2017
The vulnerability described in CVE-2007-3087 represents a significant security flaw in the Peercast media streaming software that exposes sensitive authentication credentials through improper handling of password transmission. This issue arises from the software's design decision to embed cleartext passwords directly within query strings of HTTP requests, creating an exploitable vector for unauthorized access to protected resources.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the software's failure to properly secure authentication mechanisms during network communication. When users attempt to access protected Peercast services, the system constructs HTTP requests that include the password as a parameter within the URL query string rather than utilizing secure transmission methods such as HTTP POST with encrypted headers or proper authentication protocols. This design choice directly violates fundamental security principles for credential handling and exposes sensitive information to various attack vectors that can capture and analyze network traffic.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure to encompass potential unauthorized access to media streaming services and associated resources. Network sniffing attacks can easily capture these cleartext passwords from HTTP requests, while attackers can also exploit browser history mechanisms or referer headers to obtain the credentials. This vulnerability particularly affects environments where Peercast services operate in untrusted network conditions or where network traffic is not properly encrypted, making it a serious concern for organizations relying on the software for content distribution.
From a security standards perspective, this vulnerability maps directly to CWE-542 which describes the use of cleartext transmission of sensitive information, and CWE-312 which addresses the exposure of sensitive information through cleartext storage or transmission. The attack surface aligns with ATT&CK technique T1046 which involves network service scanning and T1566 which covers credential harvesting through various attack vectors. The vulnerability demonstrates poor security hygiene in authentication protocol implementation and represents a failure to adhere to established secure coding practices for sensitive data handling.
The recommended mitigations for this vulnerability include implementing proper authentication mechanisms that utilize encrypted transmission protocols such as HTTPS, employing secure authentication tokens instead of cleartext passwords in URLs, and ensuring that all sensitive information is transmitted through secure channels that prevent interception. Organizations should also implement network segmentation and encryption to protect against passive network monitoring attacks, while developers should adopt secure coding practices that prevent the inclusion of sensitive data in query strings or URLs. Additionally, regular security audits and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other components of the system architecture.