CVE-2007-3768 in SurgeFTP
Summary
by MITRE
The mirror mechanism in SurgeFTP 2.3a1 allows user-assisted, remote FTP servers to cause a denial of service (restart) via a malformed response to a PASV command.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/05/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2007-3768 resides within the mirror mechanism of SurgeFTP version 2.3a1, representing a significant security flaw that enables remote attackers to induce a denial of service condition through carefully crafted malicious responses. This weakness specifically targets the Passive FTP mode implementation where the FTP client expects a particular response format from the server during the PASV command execution. The vulnerability manifests when a remote FTP server provides a malformed response to the PASV command, which the vulnerable client processes without adequate validation or error handling mechanisms.
The technical flaw stems from insufficient input validation and error handling within the FTP client's response parsing logic. When SurgeFTP 2.3a1 receives a malformed PASV response, the application fails to properly sanitize or reject the invalid data, leading to a cascade of failures that ultimately results in the application restarting or crashing. This behavior aligns with CWE-129, which addresses improper validation of array indices, and CWE-248, which covers exposure of a resource to the wrong interface. The vulnerability operates at the application layer of the network stack, specifically affecting the FTP protocol implementation where the client attempts to establish data connections with remote servers.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption to potentially compromise the availability of critical file transfer operations within enterprise environments. When exploited, the denial of service condition can prevent legitimate users from accessing file transfer services, causing operational downtime and potential data loss. The user-assisted nature of this vulnerability means that attackers do not require direct access to the system but can manipulate remote FTP servers to deliver the malicious response, making the attack vector particularly dangerous. This weakness affects the reliability of FTP operations and can be leveraged in broader attack campaigns targeting network infrastructure components.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2007-3768 should focus on immediate patching of the affected SurgeFTP version, as the vulnerability represents a known security flaw that has been addressed in subsequent releases. Organizations should implement network segmentation to limit exposure of vulnerable FTP clients to untrusted remote servers, and establish proper input validation mechanisms for all FTP response processing. The remediation approach should align with ATT&CK technique T1499.004, which covers network denial of service attacks, by implementing defensive measures that prevent malformed responses from causing application restarts. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing FTP protocol monitoring and alerting mechanisms to detect anomalous PASV response patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability underscores the importance of robust error handling in network applications and the necessity of validating all external inputs before processing them within critical system components.