CVE-2007-5281 in Ucosminexus Client
Summary
by MITRE
The Java Secure Socket Extension (JSSE) in the Hitachi Cosminexus Developer s Kit for Java in various Hitachi Cosminexus 7.5 products before 07-50-01, when using JSSE for SSL/TLS support, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via certain SSL/TLS handshake requests. NOTE: this may be the same as CVE-2007-3698.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/29/2017
The vulnerability described in CVE-2007-5281 represents a critical denial of service weakness within the Java Secure Socket Extension implementation of Hitachi Cosminexus Developer Kit for Java. This flaw specifically affects various Hitachi Cosminexus 7.5 products prior to version 07-50-01, where the JSSE component is responsible for providing SSL/TLS security support. The vulnerability manifests during SSL/TLS handshake operations, making it particularly dangerous as it can be exploited by remote attackers without requiring authentication or privileged access. The issue stems from insufficient validation of SSL/TLS handshake requests, allowing malicious actors to craft specific requests that cause the affected system to become unresponsive or crash entirely. This type of vulnerability falls under the category of resource exhaustion attacks, where attacker-controlled input causes the system to consume excessive computational resources or enter an unstable state, ultimately leading to service disruption.
The technical implementation flaw within the JSSE component demonstrates a failure in proper input validation and error handling during the SSL/TLS handshake process. When processing certain malformed or specially crafted SSL/TLS handshake requests, the Hitachi Cosminexus Developer Kit fails to properly validate the incoming data structures, leading to unexpected behavior in the SSL/TLS protocol stack. This weakness can be classified as a CWE-400 vulnerability, specifically related to unspecified resource management issues in cryptographic protocols. The attack vector operates entirely over the network, requiring only that an attacker can establish a connection to the vulnerable system and initiate an SSL/TLS handshake process. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it affects the core security infrastructure components that are essential for maintaining secure communications, making it a prime target for attackers seeking to disrupt business operations or create conditions for more sophisticated attacks.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption, as it can severely compromise the availability of critical business applications that rely on secure communication channels. Organizations using affected Hitachi Cosminexus 7.5 products may experience complete service outages during attack periods, potentially affecting customer access to applications, data integrity, and overall system availability. The vulnerability's remote nature means that attackers can exploit it from anywhere on the internet without requiring physical access to the affected systems. This characteristic makes it particularly attractive to threat actors seeking to cause maximum disruption with minimal effort and risk. The potential for cascading effects exists when the vulnerability affects systems that serve as communication endpoints for other services, potentially leading to broader network outages. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to T1499.004, which covers network denial of service attacks, and represents a significant threat to system availability and business continuity.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate patching of affected systems to version 07-50-01 or later, which contains the necessary fixes for the JSSE implementation. Organizations should also implement network-level protections such as firewall rules that limit SSL/TLS handshake attempts from suspicious sources and monitor for unusual patterns in SSL/TLS connection requests. Additionally, implementing intrusion detection systems that can identify and block malformed SSL/TLS handshake attempts provides an additional layer of defense. System administrators should conduct thorough vulnerability assessments to identify all instances of the affected Hitachi Cosminexus products within their environments and prioritize remediation efforts accordingly. The vulnerability's classification as a denial of service issue means that organizations should also have incident response procedures in place to quickly detect and respond to exploitation attempts. Regular security updates and patch management processes should be strengthened to ensure that similar vulnerabilities in other components of the system are identified and addressed promptly. Given the nature of the vulnerability, organizations should also consider implementing redundant systems or failover mechanisms to maintain service availability during potential attack windows.