CVE-2008-3174 in Host Based Intrusion Prevention System
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in the kmxfw.sys driver in CA Host-Based Intrusion Prevention System (HIPS) r8, as used in CA Internet Security Suite and Personal Firewall, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via unknown vectors, related to "insufficient validation."
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/16/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2008-3174 affects the kmxfw.sys kernel driver component within CA Host-Based Intrusion Prevention System version r8, which is integrated into CA Internet Security Suite and Personal Firewall products. This represents a critical security flaw that resides at the kernel level of the operating system, specifically within the firewall driver responsible for network traffic monitoring and control. The vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation mechanisms within the kmxfw.sys driver, creating a potential attack surface that could be exploited by remote threat actors to disrupt system operations.
The technical nature of this vulnerability manifests through insufficient validation processes that fail to properly examine or sanitize incoming data or control structures passed to the kmxfw.sys driver. This weakness allows attackers to craft malicious inputs that can trigger unexpected behavior within the kernel driver, potentially leading to system instability or complete system crash. The unspecified nature of the attack vectors suggests that multiple pathways exist for exploitation, making the vulnerability particularly concerning as it may be leveraged through various network-based attack scenarios without requiring local system access or elevated privileges.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability creates significant risk for organizations relying on CA HIPS solutions for endpoint protection. A successful exploitation could result in denial of service conditions that would compromise the integrity of the security infrastructure, potentially leaving systems vulnerable to other attacks while the firewall protection is temporarily disabled. The remote attack capability means that threat actors could target systems without requiring physical access or local network presence, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where network segmentation might not prevent all attack vectors. The impact extends beyond simple service disruption as it undermines the fundamental security posture that organizations depend upon for protection against network-based threats.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-20, which describes "Improper Input Validation" as a common weakness that occurs when software does not properly validate inputs received from external sources. The flaw also maps to ATT&CK technique T1499.004, which covers "Endpoint Denial of Service" through the exploitation of software vulnerabilities that cause system instability or crash conditions. Organizations should consider implementing immediate mitigation strategies including patching the affected software to the latest available version, applying network segmentation to limit exposure, and monitoring for potential exploitation attempts. Additionally, system administrators should implement robust network monitoring to detect anomalous traffic patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts, while also considering the implementation of intrusion detection systems specifically designed to identify kernel-level anomalies that could indicate exploitation of similar vulnerabilities.
The broader implications of this vulnerability highlight the critical importance of kernel-level security in endpoint protection solutions, as flaws in these components can have cascading effects on overall system security. Organizations should conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments of their security infrastructure to identify similar issues in other kernel drivers or system components, ensuring that all security-critical software components maintain proper input validation and error handling mechanisms to prevent similar exploitation scenarios from occurring in their environments.