CVE-2008-1438 in Windows Live Onecare
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in Microsoft Malware Protection Engine (mpengine.dll) 1.1.3520.0 and 0.1.13.192, as used in multiple Microsoft products, allows context-dependent attackers to cause a denial of service (disk space exhaustion) via a file with "crafted data structures" that trigger the creation of large temporary files, a different vulnerability than CVE-2008-1437.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/10/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2008-1438 represents a critical flaw within Microsoft Malware Protection Engine version 1.1.3520.0 and 0.1.13.192 which serves as the core scanning component for multiple Microsoft security products including Windows Defender and System Center Protection. This vulnerability specifically targets the mpengine.dll module responsible for processing and analyzing files for malware signatures, creating a pathway for malicious actors to exploit the engine's handling of specially crafted data structures. The flaw operates at the intersection of software security and resource management, where the engine's processing logic fails to properly validate input data structures, leading to unintended resource consumption patterns.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the engine's insufficient validation mechanisms when processing file content that contains crafted data structures designed to trigger excessive temporary file creation during malware scanning operations. When the Malware Protection Engine encounters such malformed input, it creates temporary files that grow disproportionately in size, consuming available disk space rapidly and ultimately leading to system denial of service conditions. This behavior represents a classic resource exhaustion attack pattern where the legitimate security functionality becomes weaponized to consume system resources rather than protect against threats. The vulnerability operates through a context-dependent attack vector, meaning that the malicious payload must be processed by the engine in a specific operational context for the exploit to succeed, typically during file scanning operations.
The operational impact of CVE-2008-1438 extends beyond simple denial of service conditions to potentially compromise entire system operations and availability. When exploited successfully, the vulnerability can cause systems to become unresponsive due to disk space exhaustion, preventing normal system operations and potentially leading to cascading failures in dependent services. The attack requires minimal privileges to execute and can be delivered through various vectors including email attachments, downloaded files, or network shares, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where automated scanning processes continuously monitor file systems. This vulnerability directly relates to CWE-400, which addresses "Uncontrolled Resource Consumption" and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.001 for "Storage Exhaustion" as it specifically targets the consumption of disk space resources through legitimate system processes.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including updating to the latest versions of Microsoft Malware Protection Engine, which contain patches addressing the improper validation of input data structures. System administrators should also consider implementing disk space monitoring and alerting mechanisms to detect unusual resource consumption patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. Additional protective measures include configuring security policies to limit the scope of automatic scanning operations and implementing network segmentation to reduce the attack surface. The vulnerability's classification as a context-dependent issue means that organizations should prioritize patch management processes and maintain awareness of potential attack vectors that could deliver malicious payloads to systems running the vulnerable engine versions. Organizations should also consider implementing network-based intrusion detection systems to monitor for patterns consistent with this vulnerability's exploitation characteristics and maintain detailed logging of system resource consumption during security scanning operations.