CVE-2010-1152 in memcached
Summary
by MITRE
memcached.c in memcached before 1.4.3 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (daemon hang or crash) via a long line that triggers excessive memory allocation. NOTE: some of these details are obtained from third party information.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/29/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2010-1152 affects the memcached software version 1.4.3 and earlier, representing a critical denial of service flaw that can be exploited remotely by attackers. This vulnerability resides within the memcached.c source file and specifically targets the daemon's handling of input lines, creating a scenario where maliciously crafted long lines can trigger excessive memory allocation patterns that ultimately lead to daemon hang or complete crash. The issue stems from insufficient input validation mechanisms that fail to properly sanitize or limit the length of incoming data lines, allowing an attacker to craft payloads that exploit memory management weaknesses in the software's parsing logic.
The technical flaw manifests when memcached processes incoming data lines that exceed normal operational parameters, causing the daemon to allocate excessive memory resources without proper bounds checking. This behavior creates a memory allocation exhaustion condition that can be systematically exploited to consume all available memory resources on the target system, resulting in daemon unresponsiveness or complete termination. The vulnerability operates at the protocol level where memcached accepts various commands and data inputs, but fails to implement adequate length validation for line-based data processing. This weakness aligns with CWE-122, which describes improper restriction of operations within the bounds of a memory buffer, and represents a classic example of resource exhaustion through malformed input processing.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption, as it can be leveraged to create sustained denial of service conditions that may require manual intervention to restore service. When exploited, the vulnerability can cause cascading effects on systems that depend on memcached for caching operations, potentially affecting application performance and availability. The remote exploitability means that attackers do not need physical access to the target system, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous in networked environments where memcached instances are exposed to untrusted networks. From an adversary perspective, this vulnerability maps to ATT&CK technique T1499.004, which covers network denial of service attacks, and represents a straightforward approach to service disruption that requires minimal technical expertise to implement.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate patching to version 1.4.3 or later, where the developers implemented proper input validation and memory allocation bounds checking. Organizations should also implement network segmentation to limit access to memcached instances, particularly ensuring that these services are not exposed to untrusted networks. Additional protective measures include implementing rate limiting and connection throttling mechanisms to prevent rapid exploitation attempts, as well as monitoring for unusual memory consumption patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. System administrators should also consider deploying intrusion detection systems that can identify suspicious patterns of long line inputs that may indicate attempted exploitation of this vulnerability. The fix implemented by memcached developers specifically addresses the root cause by introducing proper bounds checking on input line lengths and implementing more robust memory allocation practices that prevent the excessive consumption patterns that led to the vulnerability.