CVE-2010-0930 in Server
Summary
by MITRE
The Perforce service (p4s.exe) in Perforce Server 2008.1 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (infinite loop) via crafted data that includes a byte sequence of 0xdc, 0xff, 0xff, and 0xff immediately before the client protocol version number.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/01/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2010-0930 affects the Perforce Server version 2008.1, specifically targeting the Perforce service executable known as p4s.exe. This issue represents a critical denial of service weakness that can be exploited remotely by malicious actors to disrupt the availability of the Perforce version control system. The vulnerability manifests through a specific pattern of crafted data that triggers an infinite loop within the service, effectively rendering the system unavailable to legitimate users while consuming excessive system resources.
The technical flaw resides in the protocol handling mechanism of the Perforce service where it fails to properly validate incoming data sequences before processing them. When the service encounters a byte sequence consisting of 0xdc, 0xff, 0xff, and 0xff immediately preceding the client protocol version number, the parsing logic becomes trapped in an infinite loop. This condition occurs because the service does not implement proper bounds checking or validation of the data structure before attempting to parse the protocol version field. The specific byte sequence acts as a trigger that causes the service's state machine to enter an unrecoverable loop, continuously processing the same malformed data without advancing to the next protocol element.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents a significant risk to organizations that rely heavily on Perforce for version control and software development workflows. The denial of service attack can be executed remotely without requiring authentication, making it particularly dangerous as any network-connected system running the vulnerable Perforce server becomes a potential target. The infinite loop consumes system resources including cpu cycles and memory, potentially leading to system instability or complete service unavailability that can disrupt development cycles and project timelines. Organizations may experience extended downtime while administrators attempt to identify and resolve the issue, especially since the attack can be initiated from external networks without requiring privileged access.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-835, which describes the weakness of an infinite loop or infinite recursion in software systems, and represents a classic example of insufficient input validation in network protocols. From an adversarial perspective, this flaw maps to ATT&CK technique T1499.004, which involves network denial of service attacks targeting availability. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying the vendor-provided security patches, implementing network segmentation to limit access to the Perforce service, and monitoring for unusual network traffic patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. Additionally, deploying intrusion detection systems that can identify the specific byte sequence patterns associated with this vulnerability can provide early warning capabilities. System administrators should also consider implementing rate limiting and connection throttling mechanisms to reduce the impact of potential attacks while maintaining service availability for legitimate users.