CVE-2011-1851 in Intelligent Management Center
Summary
by MITRE
Stack-based buffer overflow in tftpserver.exe in HP Intelligent Management Center (IMC) 5.0 before E0101L02 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a long mode field.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/07/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2011-1851 represents a critical stack-based buffer overflow flaw in the tftpserver.exe component of HP Intelligent Management Center version 5.0 prior to E0101L02. This vulnerability exists within the Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) server implementation that is part of HP's network management infrastructure software. The flaw specifically manifests when processing a malformed mode field in TFTP requests, creating an exploitable condition that can be leveraged by remote attackers to gain arbitrary code execution privileges on the affected system.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through a stack-based buffer overflow condition that arises from insufficient input validation within the TFTP server implementation. When a remote attacker sends a specially crafted TFTP request containing an excessively long mode field, the server fails to properly bounds-check the input data before copying it into a fixed-size stack buffer. This allows the attacker to overwrite adjacent stack memory locations, potentially including return addresses and control data structures. The vulnerability falls under CWE-121, which specifically addresses stack-based buffer overflow conditions, and represents a classic example of improper input validation leading to memory corruption. The attack vector is remote and requires no authentication, making it particularly dangerous for network management systems that are typically accessible from external networks.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple code execution, as it provides attackers with potential full system compromise capabilities. Since HP Intelligent Management Center serves as a centralized network management platform, successful exploitation could enable attackers to gain administrative control over the entire managed network infrastructure. The TFTP protocol is commonly used for network device firmware updates and configuration file transfers, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous for network administrators who rely on the IMC platform for managing critical network assets. Attackers could potentially use this vulnerability to deploy malware, establish persistent backdoors, or conduct reconnaissance activities against other systems within the network. The vulnerability's classification under the MITRE ATT&CK framework would likely map to techniques such as T1059 (Command and Scripting Interpreter) and T1068 (Exploitation for Privilege Escalation), as the initial compromise leads to elevated system privileges.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2011-1851 should prioritize immediate patching of affected HP Intelligent Management Center installations to the E0101L02 release or subsequent versions that contain the necessary security fixes. Network segmentation and access control measures should be implemented to limit exposure of the TFTP server functionality to only trusted network segments. Additionally, monitoring for suspicious TFTP traffic patterns and implementing intrusion detection systems can help identify potential exploitation attempts. Organizations should also consider disabling TFTP services entirely if they are not required for network operations, as this eliminates the attack surface associated with the vulnerable component. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper input validation and bounds checking in network services, particularly those that process untrusted data from external sources. Security teams should conduct thorough vulnerability assessments of other HP IMC components and similar network management tools to identify potential similar vulnerabilities that could be exploited in a similar manner.