CVE-2012-6352 in Sterling Connect
Summary
by MITRE
The Session Manager in IBM Sterling Connect:Direct through 4.1.0.3 on UNIX allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (daemon crash and disk consumption) via crafted data.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/11/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2012-6352 affects IBM Sterling Connect:Direct Session Manager component version 4.1.0.3 and earlier on UNIX operating systems. This issue represents a critical security flaw that enables remote attackers to execute denial of service attacks against the system. The vulnerability specifically targets the Session Manager functionality which is responsible for managing and orchestrating file transfer sessions within the Connect:Direct environment. The affected component operates as a daemon process that handles session initiation, maintenance, and termination, making it a prime target for malicious actors seeking to disrupt business operations.
The technical flaw manifests through the improper handling of crafted data inputs within the Session Manager's processing pipeline. When malicious data is transmitted to the daemon, it triggers a cascade of system failures that result in both immediate daemon crashes and subsequent disk space exhaustion. This dual impact creates a particularly dangerous scenario where the system not only becomes unavailable due to the crash but also consumes disk resources at an accelerated rate, potentially leading to complete system unavailability. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and error handling mechanisms within the session management code, allowing attackers to craft specific data sequences that exploit buffer handling and resource allocation routines.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption to encompass potential business continuity risks and resource exhaustion. When the daemon crashes, legitimate users lose access to file transfer capabilities which can severely impact business operations that depend on reliable data exchange. The disk consumption aspect compounds the problem by potentially filling storage volumes and causing additional system instability. Organizations utilizing IBM Sterling Connect:Direct in production environments face significant risk of operational downtime, data transfer delays, and potential system failures that could affect downstream applications and services relying on the file transfer infrastructure. The remote nature of the attack means that adversaries can exploit this vulnerability from external networks without requiring local system access or credentials.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2012-6352 should focus on immediate patch application from IBM, which addresses the underlying input validation and error handling issues. Organizations should implement network segmentation and access controls to limit exposure of the Session Manager to untrusted networks. Monitoring systems should be enhanced to detect unusual disk consumption patterns and daemon restart activity that may indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-129 Input Validation and CWE-20 Improper Input Validation categories, representing a classic case of insufficient validation allowing malicious data to trigger system failures. From an attack framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to ATT&CK technique T1499.004 for Network Denial of Service and T1070.004 for Indicator Removal on Host, as attackers may attempt to cover their tracks after successful exploitation. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be implemented to identify similar input validation weaknesses in other components of the Connect:Direct suite and related systems.