CVE-2008-5348 in SDKJDK
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in Java Runtime Environment (JRE) for Sun JDK and JRE 6 Update 10 and earlier; JDK and JRE 5.0 Update 16 and earlier; and SDK and JRE 1.4.2_18 and earlier, when using Kerberos authentication, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (OS resource consumption) via unknown vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/21/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2008-5348 represents a critical weakness in the Java Runtime Environment that specifically manifests when Kerberos authentication mechanisms are employed. This issue affects multiple versions of the Java platform including JDK and JRE 6 Update 10 and earlier releases, JDK and JRE 5.0 Update 16 and earlier versions, and SDK and JRE 1.4.2_18 and earlier iterations. The vulnerability operates at the core of Java's security framework where Kerberos authentication is utilized, creating a pathway for malicious actors to exploit resource management flaws within the Java Virtual Machine environment.
The technical flaw underlying this vulnerability stems from inadequate handling of Kerberos authentication requests within the Java security subsystem. When legitimate authentication attempts are processed through the Kerberos protocol, the JRE fails to properly validate or limit resource allocation during the authentication process. This results in a situation where remote attackers can craft malicious authentication requests that consume excessive operating system resources without proper bounds or cleanup mechanisms. The unspecified nature of the attack vectors suggests that multiple pathways exist for exploitation, potentially including malformed Kerberos tickets, excessive authentication attempts, or manipulated security context parameters that cause the Java runtime to allocate resources without proper throttling or termination conditions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service conditions to potentially compromise entire system availability and performance. When exploited successfully, attackers can cause significant resource exhaustion across the operating system, consuming memory, CPU cycles, and other critical system resources that would normally be available for legitimate processes. This type of resource consumption attack can lead to system instability, application crashes, and in severe cases, complete system shutdowns that affect business operations. The vulnerability particularly impacts enterprise environments where Java applications frequently utilize Kerberos authentication for secure access control, making it a significant concern for organizations running mission-critical applications.
From a cybersecurity perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-400, which addresses unchecked resource consumption, and represents a classic example of how authentication mechanisms can be exploited to create denial of service conditions. The attack pattern follows principles outlined in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the T1499 category for resource hijacking, where adversaries consume system resources to deny service to legitimate users. Organizations affected by this vulnerability should prioritize immediate patching of all impacted Java installations, implement network monitoring to detect unusual authentication patterns, and establish resource limits on Java processes to prevent complete system exhaustion. Additionally, security teams should consider implementing authentication rate limiting mechanisms and regular vulnerability assessments to identify similar weaknesses in other Java components or third-party applications that may be similarly vulnerable to resource consumption attacks.