CVE-2011-1206 in Tivoli Directory Server
Summary
by MITRE
Stack-based buffer overflow in the server process in ibmslapd.exe in IBM Tivoli Directory Server (TDS) 5.2 before 5.2.0.5-TIV-ITDS-IF0010, 6.0 before 6.0.0.67 (aka 6.0.0.8-TIV-ITDS-IF0009), 6.1 before 6.1.0.40 (aka 6.1.0.5-TIV-ITDS-IF0003), 6.2 before 6.2.0.16 (aka 6.2.0.3-TIV-ITDS-IF0002), and 6.3 before 6.3.0.3 (aka 6.3.0.0-TIV-ITDS-IF0003) allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted LDAP request. NOTE: some of these details are obtained from third party information.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/15/2025
The vulnerability described in CVE-2011-1206 represents a critical stack-based buffer overflow affecting IBM Tivoli Directory Server implementations across multiple versions. This flaw exists within the ibmslapd.exe server process component that handles LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) requests, making it a significant security concern for organizations relying on directory services for identity management and authentication. The vulnerability manifests when the server processes malformed LDAP requests, creating conditions where attacker-controlled data can overwrite adjacent memory locations on the stack.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from improper input validation within the LDAP processing code path. When the ibmslapd.exe server receives a specially crafted LDAP request containing oversized or malformed data structures, it fails to properly bounds-check the incoming data before copying it into fixed-size stack buffers. This classic buffer overflow condition allows an attacker to overwrite return addresses, function pointers, and other critical stack metadata, potentially enabling arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the running server process. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it operates remotely, requiring no local access or authentication to exploit.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability poses severe risks to enterprise security infrastructures that depend on IBM Tivoli Directory Server for directory services. Successful exploitation could allow remote attackers to gain full control over directory servers, potentially leading to unauthorized access to sensitive user credentials, privilege escalation within the directory service, and subsequent lateral movement throughout the network. The attack surface is broad as LDAP is commonly used for authentication in enterprise environments, making this vulnerability particularly attractive to threat actors seeking persistent access to critical infrastructure. The vulnerability affects multiple major versions of the Tivoli Directory Server, indicating a widespread exposure across different product generations.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigations including applying the vendor-provided patches for each affected version, as these updates contain proper bounds checking and input validation fixes. Network segmentation and firewall rules should be implemented to restrict LDAP traffic to trusted sources only, while monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual LDAP request patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability maps to CWE-121 Stack-based Buffer Overflow and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 Valid Accounts for privilege escalation, as successful exploitation would provide attackers with elevated privileges within the directory service environment. Additionally, this vulnerability demonstrates the importance of input validation practices and proper memory management in server-side applications, particularly those handling network protocols like LDAP that are inherently exposed to external threats.