CVE-2008-5731 in PGP
Summary
by MITRE
The PGPwded device driver (aka PGPwded.sys) in PGP Corporation PGP Desktop 9.0.6 build 6060 and 9.9.0 build 397 allows local users to cause a denial of service (system crash) and possibly gain privileges via a certain METHOD_BUFFERED IOCTL request that overwrites portions of memory, related to a "Driver Collapse." NOTE: some of these details are obtained from third party information.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/20/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2008-5731 represents a critical security flaw within the PGPwded device driver component of PGP Corporation's PGP Desktop software version 9.0.6 build 6060 and 9.9.0 build 397. This issue manifests as a local privilege escalation vulnerability that can result in both denial of service conditions and potential privilege elevation, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where PGP encryption software is widely deployed. The vulnerability specifically affects the kernel-mode driver responsible for handling cryptographic operations and system-level security functions, creating a direct pathway for malicious actors to compromise system integrity.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in improper input validation and memory management within the PGPwded.sys driver when processing METHOD_BUFFERED IOCTL (Input/Output Control) requests. The driver fails to adequately validate the size and content of buffer parameters passed during IOCTL operations, allowing local users to craft malicious requests that can overwrite critical memory regions. This memory corruption occurs during the processing of specific IOCTL commands, creating what security researchers term a "Driver Collapse" scenario where the driver's memory structure becomes corrupted, leading to system instability and potential privilege escalation. The flaw demonstrates characteristics consistent with CWE-121, which describes stack-based buffer overflow conditions, and CWE-125, which addresses out-of-bounds read conditions that can lead to memory corruption.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple system crashes, as local attackers can potentially leverage the memory corruption to elevate their privileges from standard user level to system level access. This privilege escalation capability significantly amplifies the threat posed by the vulnerability, as it could enable attackers to bypass security controls, access sensitive encrypted data, and potentially compromise the entire system. The denial of service aspect creates additional risks for organizations relying on PGP Desktop for business-critical encryption operations, as system crashes could disrupt workflow and create opportunities for further attacks. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to T1068 (Local Privilege Escalation) and T1499 (Endpoint Denial of Service), demonstrating how a single flaw can enable multiple attack vectors and compromise different aspects of system security.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigations including applying the vendor-provided security patches for PGP Desktop 9.0.6 and 9.9.0 versions, or upgrading to newer supported releases that address this memory corruption vulnerability. System administrators should also consider implementing additional monitoring to detect unusual IOCTL activity patterns and privilege escalation attempts. The vulnerability highlights the importance of proper kernel-mode driver security practices, including input validation, memory bounds checking, and privilege separation mechanisms. Given the age of the affected versions, organizations should also evaluate their overall encryption strategy and consider transitioning to more modern, actively supported encryption solutions that have better security track records and regular patching cycles. Security teams should conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify any other potentially affected systems within their network infrastructure and implement appropriate network segmentation to limit the potential impact of such vulnerabilities.