CVE-2008-6903 in Sophos
Summary
by MITRE
Sophos Anti-Virus for Windows before 7.6.3, Anti-Virus for Windows NT/9x before 4.7.18, Anti-Virus for OS X before 4.9.18, Anti-Virus for Linux before 6.4.5, Anti-Virus for UNIX before 7.0.5, Anti-Virus for Unix and Netware before 4.37.0, Sophos EM Library, and Sophos small business solutions, when CAB archive scanning is enabled, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (segmentation fault) via a "fuzzed" CAB archive file, as demonstrated by the OUSPG PROTOS GENOME test suite for Archive Formats.
If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/20/2018
This vulnerability affects multiple Sophos anti-virus products across different operating systems including windows nt/9x, os x, linux, unix, and netware platforms. The flaw exists specifically when CAB archive scanning is enabled, creating a critical security gap that can be exploited by remote attackers to trigger denial of service conditions. The vulnerability manifests as segmentation faults occurring during the processing of malformed CAB archive files, which are commonly used for software distribution and file compression across various platforms.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation within the CAB archive parsing routines of the Sophos anti-virus engines. When a specially crafted or "fuzzed" CAB archive file is processed, the parsing logic fails to properly handle malformed data structures, leading to memory corruption and subsequent segmentation faults. This type of vulnerability falls under the category of buffer overflows and memory corruption issues that are classified as CWE-121 in the Common Weakness Enumeration system. The attack vector is particularly dangerous because it can be executed remotely without requiring authentication, making it a significant threat to system availability.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption as it can affect enterprise environments where Sophos anti-virus solutions are deployed across multiple platforms. Organizations using affected versions of Sophos products face potential business continuity issues when attackers exploit this weakness to cause system crashes or service interruptions. The vulnerability affects both server and client environments, potentially compromising the security infrastructure of organizations that rely on these anti-virus solutions for protection. This weakness represents a critical gap in the defensive posture of affected systems, as it allows attackers to cause denial of service conditions without requiring elevated privileges or complex attack chains.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate patching of all affected Sophos products to version 7.6.3 or later for Windows, 4.7.18 for Windows NT/9x, 4.9.18 for OS X, 6.4.5 for Linux, 7.0.5 for UNIX, 4.37.0 for Unix and Netware, and corresponding updates for Sophos EM Library and small business solutions. Organizations should also implement network segmentation and monitoring to detect unusual scanning activities that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper input validation and memory management in security software, as highlighted by ATT&CK technique T1499.004 for network denial of service attacks. System administrators should also consider disabling CAB archive scanning functionality when not required, as a temporary workaround while implementing permanent patches. Regular vulnerability assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar weaknesses in other security tools and applications that may be susceptible to similar memory corruption vulnerabilities.