CVE-2008-1278 in RemotelyAnywhere
Summary
by MITRE
The RemotelyAnywhere.exe service in the Remotely Anywhere Server and Workstation 8.0.668 and earlier allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) via an invalid Accept-Charset header, which triggers a NULL pointer dereference. NOTE: the service is automatically restarted.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/16/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2008-1278 affects the Remotely Anywhere Server and Workstation software version 8.0.668 and earlier, specifically targeting the RemotelyAnywhere.exe service. This issue represents a classic denial of service vulnerability that exploits a flaw in the service's handling of HTTP headers, particularly the Accept-Charset header parameter. The vulnerability manifests when an attacker crafts a malformed HTTP request containing an invalid Accept-Charset header value that causes the service to crash due to a NULL pointer dereference condition. This type of vulnerability falls under CWE-476 which specifically addresses NULL pointer dereference conditions that can lead to application crashes and service unavailability. The flaw demonstrates poor input validation and error handling within the HTTP request processing pipeline of the Remotely Anywhere service.
The technical execution of this vulnerability involves sending a specially crafted HTTP request to the Remotely Anywhere service that contains an invalid Accept-Charset header value. When the service attempts to process this malformed header, it fails to properly validate the input and subsequently tries to dereference a NULL pointer, leading to an immediate application crash. This NULL pointer dereference represents a fundamental programming error where the service assumes certain pointers will contain valid memory addresses but encounters NULL values instead. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it allows remote attackers to trigger service disruption without requiring authentication or elevated privileges, making it an attractive target for malicious actors seeking to disrupt legitimate service availability.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption, as it creates a persistent availability problem that can be exploited repeatedly by attackers. While the service automatically restarts after crashing, this automatic recovery mechanism does not prevent the denial of service condition from occurring multiple times, potentially leading to sustained service degradation or complete unavailability. The repeated crashing and restarting cycles can consume significant system resources and may impact other services running on the same system. From an attacker's perspective, this vulnerability provides a straightforward method to disrupt service availability, making it a potential vector for broader attacks that could include network disruption or resource exhaustion. The vulnerability also demonstrates the importance of implementing proper error handling and input validation in network services, as the service should be able to gracefully handle malformed input rather than crashing.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on input validation and service hardening approaches that align with industry best practices such as those recommended in the OWASP Top 10 and NIST cybersecurity frameworks. Organizations should immediately upgrade to versions of Remotely Anywhere that contain patches addressing this NULL pointer dereference vulnerability, as the vendor likely released a fix that properly validates Accept-Charset header values before processing them. Network administrators should implement firewall rules or intrusion prevention systems that can detect and block malformed HTTP requests containing suspicious Accept-Charset header values. Additionally, service hardening measures including implementing proper error handling mechanisms, input sanitization, and robust logging should be applied to prevent similar vulnerabilities from occurring in other network services. The automatic restart feature of the service, while providing some resilience, should not be relied upon as the sole mitigation strategy since it does not address the underlying security flaw and can actually mask the vulnerability from administrators. This vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical importance of proper software testing and security reviews, particularly for network services that handle untrusted input from remote attackers, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499 which covers network denial of service attacks.