CVE-2009-4847 in Deliantra
Summary
by MITRE
Deliantra Server before 2.82 allows remote authenticated users to cause a denial of service (daemon crash) via vectors involving an empty treasure list.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/30/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2009-4847 affects the Deliantra Server software version 2.82 and earlier, representing a significant security flaw that enables authenticated remote attackers to trigger a denial of service condition. This issue specifically manifests when the server processes treasure lists that are empty or contain no valid entries, leading to a daemon crash that disrupts normal service operations. The vulnerability demonstrates a classic input validation weakness where the server fails to properly handle edge cases in its data processing routines, particularly concerning inventory and treasure management systems that are fundamental to the game server's functionality.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from inadequate error handling within the server's treasure list processing module. When an authenticated user submits a request containing an empty treasure list, the server's internal parsing logic does not adequately validate the input structure or handle the absence of expected data elements. This failure results in a critical execution path that leads to memory corruption or null pointer dereference conditions, ultimately causing the daemon process to terminate unexpectedly. The flaw operates at the application layer and requires only authenticated access, meaning that legitimate users with valid credentials can exploit this weakness to disrupt service availability. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-476 which categorizes null pointer dereferences as a common programming error that can lead to system instability and denial of service conditions.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents a substantial risk to server availability and user experience within the Deliantra gaming environment. The daemon crash resulting from empty treasure list processing can cause immediate disruption to gameplay sessions, potentially affecting multiple users simultaneously depending on the server configuration and user base size. The impact extends beyond simple service interruption as administrators may need to restart server processes manually, leading to additional downtime and potential data loss or session disruption. Network administrators must consider the implications of this vulnerability in relation to their incident response procedures and service availability requirements. The vulnerability also represents a potential vector for broader attacks that could combine this denial of service condition with other exploitation techniques to create more sophisticated attack scenarios.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2009-4847 should prioritize immediate patch application to Deliantra Server version 2.82 or later, which contains the necessary fixes for proper input validation and error handling. System administrators should implement additional monitoring solutions to detect unusual patterns in treasure list processing that might indicate exploitation attempts. Network segmentation and access control measures can help limit the potential impact by restricting access to only authorized users who require legitimate access to treasure management functions. The implementation of automated failover mechanisms and redundant server instances can help maintain service availability during exploitation attempts. Security teams should also consider implementing intrusion detection systems that can identify and alert on suspicious treasure list processing patterns. This vulnerability highlights the importance of comprehensive input validation and robust error handling practices in server-side applications, aligning with ATT&CK technique T1499 which focuses on network denial of service attacks and system disruption methods. Regular security assessments and code reviews should be conducted to identify similar input validation weaknesses in other components of the Deliantra server ecosystem.