CVE-2007-4200 in The Slueth Kit
Summary
by MITRE
ntfs.c in fsstat in Brian Carrier The Sleuth Kit (TSK) before 2.09 interprets a certain variable as a byte count rather than a count of 32-bit integers, which allows user-assisted remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) and prevent examination of certain NTFS files via a malformed NTFS image.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/27/2017
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2007-4200 affects the ntfs.c component within fsstat, a utility in Brian Carrier's The Sleuth Kit (TSK) framework version 2.09 and earlier. This flaw represents a classic integer arithmetic error that occurs during the processing of NTFS file system images, specifically when examining the structure of NTFS volumes. The issue manifests when the software misinterprets a variable that should represent a count of 32-bit integers but instead treats it as a byte count, leading to incorrect memory calculations and subsequent application instability.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in the improper handling of data structure sizes within the NTFS file system parsing logic. When TSK processes an NTFS image, it encounters a variable that contains a value intended to specify the number of 32-bit entities within a particular data structure. However, the code incorrectly treats this value as if it represents bytes rather than 32-bit integers, causing the application to allocate memory or iterate through data structures using incorrect calculations. This misinterpretation creates a scenario where the application may attempt to access memory beyond allocated boundaries or process data in ways that violate expected data structure formats.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service, as it fundamentally compromises the ability of digital forensic analysts to examine potentially compromised NTFS file systems. Attackers can craft malicious NTFS images with specially constructed metadata that triggers this flaw when processed by TSK tools. The resulting application crash prevents forensic examination of the affected files, effectively blocking investigators from accessing critical evidence that might be necessary for security analysis or incident response activities. This vulnerability particularly impacts forensic workflows where TSK is used for disk image analysis, as it can render entire forensic investigations unusable when encountering malformed NTFS structures.
From a cybersecurity perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-190, which describes integer overflow and underflow conditions, and demonstrates how improper data type handling can lead to critical system instability. The attack vector classified as user-assisted remote exploitation means that an attacker can remotely craft a malicious NTFS image that, when processed by a victim's forensic tool, will trigger the flaw. This represents a significant concern for digital forensics environments where analysts may encounter untrusted file system images from various sources. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this under T1070.004, which covers "Indicator Removal on Host: File Deletion," as the denial of service could prevent forensic examination of files that might be part of an attack chain. Organizations relying on TSK for digital forensics and incident response should prioritize patching this vulnerability to maintain the integrity of their investigative capabilities and prevent potential exploitation that could compromise forensic evidence collection.
The fix for this vulnerability required careful review of the ntfs.c source code to ensure proper interpretation of variable types and correct calculations when processing NTFS metadata structures. Modern versions of TSK address this issue by implementing proper type casting and bounds checking to prevent the incorrect interpretation of integer values as byte counts. This remediation demonstrates the importance of thorough code review and testing when dealing with low-level file system parsing operations, particularly in forensic tools where reliability and stability are paramount for successful investigations.