CVE-2008-0285 in ngIRCd
Summary
by MITRE
ngIRCd 0.10.x before 0.10.4 and 0.11.0 before 0.11.0-pre2 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) via crafted IRC PART message, which triggers an invalid dereference.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/04/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2008-0285 affects ngIRCd versions 0.10.x before 0.10.4 and 0.11.0 before 0.11.0-pre2, representing a critical security flaw that enables remote attackers to execute denial of service attacks against IRC servers. This vulnerability specifically targets the handling of crafted IRC PART messages, which are standard commands used in Internet Relay Chat protocols to leave channels. The flaw manifests when the server processes malformed PART messages that trigger an invalid memory dereference condition, causing the ngIRCd service to crash and become unavailable to legitimate users.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation within the IRC protocol parsing logic of ngIRCd. When a malicious attacker sends a specially crafted PART message containing malformed parameters or unexpected data structures, the server's processing routine fails to properly validate the incoming data before attempting to access memory locations. This invalid dereference occurs at the application level where the software attempts to access memory addresses that are either uninitialized, freed, or otherwise inaccessible, leading to an immediate crash of the ngIRCd process. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-476, which describes NULL pointer dereference conditions, and represents a classic example of improper input validation leading to memory corruption.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to IRC network stability and availability. Since ngIRCd serves as a foundational component for many IRC networks, a successful exploitation can result in widespread service disruption affecting numerous users and channels. The remote nature of the attack means that any individual with access to the network can potentially trigger the vulnerability without requiring local system access or authentication credentials. This makes the vulnerability particularly dangerous in public IRC environments where multiple users may be connected simultaneously, as a single malicious participant can potentially bring down an entire server instance. The impact extends beyond simple service interruption, as server crashes can lead to loss of chat history, user connections, and potentially expose the network to further attacks due to the unavailability of logging and monitoring functions.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2008-0285 primarily focus on immediate software updates and implementation of defensive network configurations. The most effective solution involves upgrading to ngIRCd versions 0.10.4 or 0.11.0-pre2 and later, which contain patches specifically addressing the invalid memory dereference issue. Organizations should also implement network-level filtering to monitor and potentially block malformed IRC traffic, particularly focusing on PART message patterns that could trigger the vulnerability. Additionally, system administrators should consider implementing intrusion detection systems that can identify and alert on suspicious IRC protocol behavior. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving service interruption and application layer attacks, specifically targeting the execution of malicious payloads through protocol manipulation. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be implemented to identify similar issues in other IRC implementations and ensure overall network resilience against similar attack vectors.