CVE-2008-0294 in FreeSeat
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in the seat-locking implementation in FreeSeat before 1.1.5d allows attackers to book a seat more than once via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/15/2018
The vulnerability described in CVE-2008-0294 represents a critical flaw in the seat-locking mechanism of the FreeSeat reservation system prior to version 1.1.5d. This issue falls under the category of race conditions and concurrent access control problems that can severely compromise the integrity of reservation systems. The unspecified nature of the attack vectors suggests that multiple pathways exist for exploitation, making the vulnerability particularly dangerous as it could be leveraged through various means without clear detection. Such flaws in reservation systems can have significant financial and operational implications for organizations relying on automated booking processes.
The technical implementation flaw stems from inadequate synchronization mechanisms within the seat-locking algorithm that governs how reservations are processed and validated. When multiple concurrent requests attempt to book the same seat, the system fails to properly enforce exclusive access controls, allowing unauthorized duplicate bookings to occur. This type of vulnerability typically manifests when the system does not adequately check for existing reservations or does not implement proper locking mechanisms during the reservation process. The flaw likely exists in the database transaction handling or the application-level logic that manages seat availability and reservation states. From a cybersecurity perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-362, which describes race conditions where concurrent processes can interfere with each other's operations, and potentially CWE-129, which addresses improper validation of input data that could lead to unexpected behavior in resource management.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple duplicate bookings and can result in significant financial losses, customer dissatisfaction, and potential legal ramifications for organizations using the FreeSeat system. Attackers could exploit this flaw systematically to book the same seat multiple times, potentially creating a scenario where the reservation system becomes completely unreliable. This type of attack could be particularly devastating in high-demand environments such as airline booking systems, hotel reservations, or event ticketing platforms where seat availability is critical. The vulnerability could also serve as a foundation for more complex attacks, potentially enabling attackers to manipulate reservation data or create denial-of-service conditions by exhausting available resources through repeated invalid bookings. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability could be leveraged under the technique T1499.004 for endpoint denial of service, and potentially T1566.001 for social engineering through manipulation of reservation systems.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on implementing proper concurrent access controls and robust reservation locking mechanisms. Organizations should immediately upgrade to FreeSeat version 1.1.5d or later, which contains the necessary patches to address the race condition issues. Additionally, implementing database-level transactions with proper locking mechanisms, such as pessimistic locking or optimistic locking strategies, can prevent concurrent access violations. The system should also incorporate proper input validation and reservation state verification checks to ensure that seat availability is accurately maintained during the booking process. Regular security audits and penetration testing of reservation systems can help identify similar vulnerabilities before they can be exploited by malicious actors. Implementing monitoring solutions that detect unusual booking patterns or rapid successive reservations can provide early warning of potential exploitation attempts. Organizations should also consider implementing rate limiting and authentication controls to prevent automated exploitation of such vulnerabilities.