CVE-2007-4880 in Tivoli Storage Manager
Summary
by MITRE
Buffer overflow in the Client Acceptor Daemon (CAD), dsmcad.exe, in certain IBM Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM) clients 5.1 before 5.1.8.1, 5.2 before 5.2.5.2, 5.3 before 5.3.5.3, and 5.4 before 5.4.1.2 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via crafted HTTP headers, aka IC52905.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/26/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2007-4880 represents a critical buffer overflow flaw within the Client Acceptor Daemon component of IBM Tivoli Storage Manager clients. This daemon process, known as dsmcad.exe, serves as a crucial interface for client-server communication within the storage management ecosystem. The affected versions span multiple major releases including 5.1 through 5.4, indicating a widespread exposure across the TSM client product line. The vulnerability specifically manifests when the daemon processes incoming HTTP headers from remote connections, creating a pathway for malicious actors to exploit the system through crafted header content.
The technical implementation of this buffer overflow stems from inadequate input validation within the CAD component's HTTP header parsing mechanism. When the daemon receives HTTP headers containing excessively long or malformed data, the application fails to properly bounds-check the input before copying it into fixed-size memory buffers. This fundamental flaw in memory management creates an exploitable condition where an attacker can overwrite adjacent memory locations, potentially corrupting the program's execution flow. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-121 as a stack-based buffer overflow, which directly enables arbitrary code execution capabilities.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data corruption, as it provides remote attackers with complete system compromise potential. Attackers can leverage this weakness to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the dsmcad.exe process, which typically runs with elevated permissions within the storage management environment. This creates a severe risk for organizations relying on TSM for critical data protection, as successful exploitation could lead to unauthorized data access, system takeover, or complete network compromise. The remote nature of the attack means that adversaries need not have physical access to the system, making the vulnerability particularly dangerous in networked environments where TSM clients communicate with central storage servers.
The attack vector specifically targets HTTP header processing, making it particularly insidious as it can be triggered through normal network communication patterns. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1203 - Exploitation for Client Execution, where adversaries leverage application vulnerabilities to execute code on target systems. Organizations using TSM clients in production environments face significant risk, as the daemon process is typically always running and accepting connections. The vulnerability's classification under CWE-121 and its exploitation potential make it a high-priority concern for security teams, particularly those managing enterprise storage infrastructure where data integrity and system availability are paramount.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2007-4880 primarily focus on immediate software updates and network-level protections. IBM released patches for all affected versions, with the most critical updates available for TSM client versions 5.1.8.1, 5.2.5.2, 5.3.5.3, and 5.4.1.2. Organizations should prioritize immediate deployment of these patches across all affected systems to eliminate the buffer overflow vulnerability. Network-level protections including firewall rules that restrict access to the CAD daemon ports and HTTP header filtering can provide temporary mitigation while patches are deployed. Additionally, monitoring for unusual HTTP header patterns and implementing intrusion detection systems can help identify potential exploitation attempts. Security teams should also consider isolating TSM client systems from untrusted networks and implementing principle of least privilege for the dsmcad.exe process to limit potential damage from successful exploitation attempts.