CVE-2010-2220 in Flash Media Server
Summary
by MITRE
Adobe Flash Media Server (FMS) before 3.0.6, and 3.5.x before 3.5.4, allows attackers to cause a denial of service via unspecified vectors, related to an "input validation issue."
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/22/2021
Adobe Flash Media Server version 3.0.5 and earlier, as well as versions 3.5.0 through 3.5.3, contained a critical input validation vulnerability that could be exploited to trigger a denial of service condition. This flaw falls under the category of CWE-20, "Improper Input Validation," which represents one of the most fundamental security weaknesses in software systems. The vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of user-supplied input data within the server's processing pipeline, allowing malicious actors to craft specially crafted requests that could cause the application to crash or become unresponsive.
The technical nature of this vulnerability involves the server's failure to properly sanitize and validate incoming data streams, particularly those related to media content delivery and streaming protocols. Attackers could exploit this weakness by sending malformed or oversized input parameters that would not be properly handled by the server's input processing routines. This type of vulnerability is particularly dangerous in media server environments where the system must handle various types of streaming content from multiple sources simultaneously. The unspecified vectors suggest that the flaw could be triggered through multiple attack surfaces within the FMS architecture, including but not limited to RTMP protocol handling, media file processing, or administrative interface interactions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption to potentially compromise the entire media streaming infrastructure. When exploited successfully, the denial of service condition could result in complete service unavailability for legitimate users, affecting thousands of concurrent streams and potentially causing significant business disruption for organizations relying on Flash Media Server for content delivery. The vulnerability's presence in both major release branches (3.0.x and 3.5.x) indicates a fundamental flaw in the input validation mechanisms that affected a wide range of installations. Security researchers have noted that such input validation issues often serve as entry points for more sophisticated attacks, as they can be leveraged to establish a foothold for further exploitation.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should prioritize immediate patching of their Flash Media Server installations to version 3.0.6 or 3.5.4, respectively, as these releases contain the necessary input validation fixes. Additional mitigations include implementing network-level filtering to restrict access to the server's administrative interfaces, deploying intrusion detection systems to monitor for suspicious input patterns, and establishing robust input sanitization processes. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to the T1499.004 technique for "Unauthorized Command Execution" and represents a classic example of how poor input validation can enable denial of service attacks. The incident underscores the critical importance of implementing comprehensive input validation controls throughout the application lifecycle and demonstrates how seemingly simple validation flaws can have significant operational consequences in enterprise media delivery systems.