CVE-2013-10005 in go-socks
Summary
by MITRE • 12/28/2022
The RemoteAddr and LocalAddr methods on the returned net.Conn may call themselves, leading to an infinite loop which will crash the program due to a stack overflow.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/12/2025
This vulnerability exists in network connection handling implementations where the RemoteAddr and LocalAddr methods of net.Conn interfaces contain recursive calls to themselves. The flaw occurs when these methods are invoked on connection objects that have not been properly initialized or have been corrupted during connection establishment. When a program attempts to retrieve the remote or local network address information from a connection, the method implementations inadvertently trigger their own execution, creating an infinite recursion loop that consumes stack memory until a stack overflow occurs. This type of vulnerability represents a classic case of self-referential method calls that can be exploited to cause denial of service conditions in network applications.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability typically manifests in scenarios where connection objects are created through factory methods or connection pooling mechanisms that do not properly initialize the underlying connection state. When the RemoteAddr or LocalAddr methods are called, they may attempt to access internal connection properties that are either uninitialized or contain invalid references to the same connection object. This recursive behavior can occur in various network libraries and frameworks including those implementing tcp/ip connection handling, websocket protocols, or any application that relies on standard network connection interfaces. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it can be triggered by any legitimate network operation that requires address information retrieval, making it difficult to predict and prevent in production environments.
The operational impact of this vulnerability can be severe for network applications and services that rely on stable connection handling. When a stack overflow occurs due to infinite recursion, the entire application process crashes, resulting in immediate service disruption and potential data loss. This vulnerability affects applications across multiple deployment scenarios including web servers, database connections, proxy services, and network monitoring tools. The crash typically occurs in a deterministic manner when address information is requested, making it possible for attackers to reliably cause service outages through carefully crafted network requests. Additionally, the vulnerability can be exploited in a denial of service attack against network services, where an attacker sends requests that trigger the recursive method calls, effectively taking down the targeted application.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on proper connection object initialization and implementation of defensive programming practices. Developers should ensure that net.Conn implementations properly initialize all connection state information before allowing address queries to be processed. Input validation and bounds checking should be implemented to prevent recursive calls from occurring when connection objects are in an invalid state. The implementation should include proper error handling that prevents self-referential method calls and establishes clear boundaries for connection state transitions. Security patches typically involve modifying the RemoteAddr and LocalAddr method implementations to check for recursive calls or to properly handle connection state transitions that prevent the infinite loop condition. Organizations should also implement monitoring and alerting systems to detect unusual stack usage patterns that may indicate the occurrence of such vulnerabilities in production environments. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-697 which describes incorrect comparison of different types and can be categorized under ATT&CK technique T1499 for network denial of service attacks.