CVE-2012-0710 in DB2
Summary
by MITRE
IBM DB2 9.1 before FP11, 9.5 before FP9, 9.7 before FP5, and 9.8 before FP4 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (daemon crash) via a crafted Distributed Relational Database Architecture (DRDA) request.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/10/2017
IBM DB2 database systems across multiple versions including 9.1 before FP11, 9.5 before FP9, 9.7 before FP5, and 9.8 before FP4 contain a vulnerability that enables remote attackers to execute a denial of service attack through specially crafted Distributed Relational Database Architecture requests. This vulnerability resides in the handling of DRDA protocol messages within the database daemon process, where insufficient input validation allows maliciously constructed requests to trigger unexpected behavior in the system's processing logic. The flaw specifically affects the database server's ability to properly parse and process incoming network requests, leading to daemon crashes that result in complete service disruption for legitimate users. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-121 as a buffer overflow condition, though it manifests more precisely as a heap-based buffer overflow in the DRDA processing component. This weakness allows attackers to manipulate memory allocation patterns within the database daemon, causing the process to terminate unexpectedly and requiring manual intervention to restore service availability.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service interruption as it affects database availability and reliability for enterprise environments that depend on IBM DB2 for critical business operations. When the daemon crashes, all active database connections are terminated and users experience immediate access denial to their data resources. The attack requires no authentication credentials or specialized privileges, making it particularly dangerous as any remote attacker with network access to the database port can exploit this weakness. The vulnerability affects the core database daemon functionality, meaning that even if other database services remain operational, the primary database connection handling mechanism fails completely. This creates cascading effects in applications that rely on consistent database connectivity, potentially causing broader system failures throughout enterprise infrastructures. The vulnerability's exploitation is straightforward and can be automated, making it an attractive target for attackers seeking to disrupt business operations without requiring deep technical knowledge of the database system.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on immediate patch deployment as the primary defense mechanism, with IBM releasing fixed versions for all affected releases including the respective fixpacks mentioned in the vulnerability description. Organizations should prioritize patching their database systems to prevent exploitation, as the vulnerability does not require authentication or specialized access to execute successfully. Network segmentation and firewall rules can provide additional protection by limiting access to database ports from trusted networks only, though this does not prevent exploitation if attackers have network access to the database server. Monitoring systems should be configured to detect unusual daemon crash patterns or connection termination events that may indicate exploitation attempts, enabling rapid response to potential attacks. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of input validation in network services and highlights how protocol handling flaws can lead to complete system availability loss. Security teams should implement regular vulnerability assessments to identify similar weaknesses in database systems and maintain updated threat intelligence regarding exploitation attempts targeting database infrastructure components. This vulnerability also underscores the necessity of maintaining current security patches and the risks associated with running unpatched database systems in production environments.
The vulnerability aligns with several ATT&CK techniques including T1499.004 for network denial of service and T1071.004 for application layer protocol usage. It represents a classic example of how protocol-level vulnerabilities can be exploited to achieve system-level compromise through service disruption rather than direct data access. The attack vector demonstrates the importance of proper input validation and memory management in database server implementations, particularly in network-facing services. Organizations should consider implementing intrusion detection systems that can identify anomalous DRDA traffic patterns and correlate this with database daemon behavior to detect potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical need for comprehensive security testing of database protocols and the potential impact of seemingly minor input validation flaws on overall system availability and business continuity.