CVE-2012-2967 in Resin
Summary
by MITRE
Caucho Quercus, as distributed in Resin before 4.0.29, does not properly implement the == (equals sign equals sign) operator for comparisons, which has unspecified impact and context-dependent attack vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/10/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2012-2967 affects Caucho Quercus, a php interpreter implementation that runs php applications on the java virtual machine. This flaw resides in the Resin application server platform where Quercus is distributed, specifically impacting versions prior to 4.0.29. The issue stems from improper implementation of the equality comparison operator within the Quercus interpreter, creating a fundamental logic flaw that can lead to unpredictable behavior during runtime operations. This vulnerability represents a critical weakness in the interpreter's core functionality where the standard comparison semantics are not properly enforced.
The technical flaw manifests through the incorrect handling of the == operator in Quercus, which is a binary comparison operation that should return a boolean value indicating whether two operands are equal. When this operator fails to properly implement equality checks, it can cause logical inconsistencies in conditional statements, loops, and decision-making processes within php applications. The unspecified impact suggests that the behavior can vary significantly depending on the data types being compared, the context of the comparison, and the specific execution path taken by the application. This makes the vulnerability particularly dangerous as it can be exploited in various ways depending on the attacker's knowledge of the target application's behavior.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple incorrect comparisons, as it can enable attackers to bypass security checks, manipulate application logic, and potentially gain unauthorized access to system resources. When applications rely on proper equality comparisons for authentication, authorization, or data validation, a flawed implementation can allow attackers to craft inputs that will be incorrectly evaluated as equal to expected values. This can lead to privilege escalation, data leakage, or complete system compromise depending on how the vulnerable application is configured and what security controls are in place. The context-dependent nature of attack vectors means that exploitation requires understanding of both the specific application logic and the data flow within the target system, making it particularly challenging to detect and prevent.
Security professionals should implement immediate mitigation strategies including upgrading to Resin version 4.0.29 or later, which contains the necessary fixes for the equality operator implementation. Organizations running affected versions should conduct thorough code reviews focusing on all equality comparisons within php applications, particularly those used for security-sensitive operations such as user authentication, access control checks, and input validation. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-697, which describes incorrect comparison scenarios where program logic is affected by improper equality checks, and could potentially map to ATT&CK techniques related to privilege escalation and execution through code injection or manipulation of conditional logic. Network monitoring should be enhanced to detect anomalous behavior patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts, while application firewalls should be configured to validate input data more rigorously and enforce proper equality operations in security-critical code paths.