CVE-2013-3808 in MySQL Server
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in the MySQL Server component in Oracle MySQL 5.1.68 and earlier, 5.5.30 and earlier, and 5.6.10 allows remote authenticated users to affect availability via unknown vectors related to Server Options.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/20/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2013-3808 resides within the MySQL Server component of Oracle MySQL database systems, specifically affecting versions 5.1.68 and earlier, 5.5.30 and earlier, and 5.6.10 and earlier. This designation indicates a critical weakness in the server's operational stability that could be exploited by authenticated remote attackers to compromise system availability. The vulnerability is categorized under unspecified vector types related to server options, suggesting that the flaw manifests in the configuration or operational parameters that govern how the MySQL server processes requests and manages resources. The impact extends across multiple major version lines, indicating a fundamental issue within the server architecture rather than a isolated bug in a specific release.
The technical nature of this vulnerability lies in its ability to affect server availability through mechanisms related to server options, which typically encompass configuration parameters that control how the database server operates. These server options could include settings related to connection handling, resource allocation, query processing, or memory management. When exploited, the vulnerability likely causes the MySQL server to enter an unstable state where it becomes unresponsive to legitimate client requests or fails to properly handle concurrent connections. This type of availability disruption can be particularly damaging in production environments where database uptime is critical for business operations.
From an operational perspective, the vulnerability presents significant risks to database availability and system reliability. Attackers who have authenticated access to the MySQL server can potentially trigger conditions that cause the server to crash, become unresponsive, or enter a state where it cannot properly process database requests. This disruption can result in service outages, data access failures, and potentially cascading effects throughout applications that depend on the database for their operations. The fact that the vulnerability affects multiple version lines suggests that organizations running any of these affected MySQL versions are at risk, regardless of their specific deployment configuration or usage patterns.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying the latest security patches from Oracle that address this specific vulnerability, as well as conducting comprehensive vulnerability assessments of their MySQL deployments. System administrators should also consider implementing network segmentation and access controls to limit the potential impact of authenticated attackers who might exploit this vulnerability. Monitoring systems should be configured to detect unusual patterns of server behavior or connection failures that might indicate exploitation attempts. Additionally, organizations should review their MySQL server configuration options to ensure that potentially risky settings are properly restricted or monitored, aligning with security best practices and industry standards for database server hardening. The vulnerability's classification under server options suggests that proper configuration management and regular security audits of database server parameters can significantly reduce the attack surface and potential impact of such availability-focused exploits.
This vulnerability type aligns with CWE-119 which deals with improper restriction of operations within a limited access scope, and relates to ATT&CK techniques involving service stoppage and availability disruption. The exploitation pattern demonstrates how authenticated access can be leveraged to cause denial of service conditions, making it particularly concerning for environments where database availability is paramount to business continuity and where access controls might not be sufficiently restrictive.