CVE-2007-3780 in Community Server
Summary
by MITRE
MySQL Community Server before 5.0.45 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (daemon crash) via a malformed password packet in the connection protocol.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/22/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2007-3780 represents a critical denial of service weakness in MySQL Community Server versions prior to 5.0.45. This flaw exists within the database server's connection protocol handling mechanism, specifically when processing authentication packets from remote clients. The vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation during the initial connection phase where the server fails to properly sanitize malformed password packets that may contain unexpected or corrupted data structures.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the MySQL daemon's authentication subsystem receiving a specially crafted password packet that contains malformed data within the connection protocol. When the server attempts to process this invalid packet, it encounters unexpected data patterns that trigger an unhandled exception or memory corruption state. This processing failure causes the MySQL daemon to crash and terminate its service, effectively rendering the database unavailable to legitimate users and applications that depend on the service.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents a significant risk to database availability and system reliability. Remote attackers can exploit this weakness without requiring authentication credentials, making it particularly dangerous in networked environments where database servers are accessible from external networks. The impact extends beyond simple service disruption as database downtime can cascade through dependent applications, potentially causing widespread business interruption and data access failures. The vulnerability's exploitability is enhanced by its requirement for minimal attack complexity, as the malicious packet can be constructed using standard network tools and does not require advanced exploitation techniques.
The underlying flaw aligns with CWE-129, which addresses improper validation of input boundaries, and demonstrates poor error handling practices within the MySQL server implementation. This vulnerability also relates to ATT&CK technique T1499.004, which covers network denial of service attacks targeting database services. The vulnerability's presence in pre-5.0.45 versions indicates a failure in the software's defensive programming practices, specifically in the area of protocol parsing and error recovery mechanisms. Organizations utilizing affected MySQL versions face increased risk of service disruption and potential data integrity issues during exploitation attempts.
Mitigation strategies should prioritize immediate patch deployment to MySQL Community Server versions 5.0.45 and later, which contain the necessary code fixes to properly validate incoming password packets. Network-level protections such as firewall rules can be implemented to restrict direct database access from untrusted networks, while intrusion detection systems can monitor for suspicious connection patterns. Additionally, implementing connection rate limiting and monitoring for malformed packets can help detect and prevent exploitation attempts. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify similar weaknesses in database configurations and ensure comprehensive protection against similar protocol-based attacks.