CVE-2014-3426 in NCSA Mosaic
Summary
by MITRE
NCSA Mosaic 2.1 through 2.7b5 allows local users to cause a denial of service ("remote control" outage) by creating a /tmp/Mosaic.pid file for every possible PID.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/03/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-3426 affects NCSA Mosaic versions 2.1 through 2.7b5, representing a denial of service condition that can be triggered by local users through strategic file manipulation. This issue falls under the category of improper input validation and resource exhaustion, where the application fails to properly handle or validate the existence of process identifier files in the temporary directory. The flaw specifically manifests when a malicious user creates multiple /tmp/Mosaic.pid files corresponding to every possible process identifier, effectively overwhelming the system's ability to manage or track the application's process state.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability exploits the application's reliance on PID files for process management and coordination. When Mosaic attempts to check for existing instances or manage its process lifecycle, it scans the /tmp directory for files matching the Mosaic.pid pattern. By creating numerous such files with different PIDs, the application experiences performance degradation or complete failure in its process management functions, leading to what is described as a "remote control" outage. This behavior aligns with CWE-400, which addresses improper handling of resource exhaustion conditions, and represents a classic example of a denial of service attack through resource manipulation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption, as it fundamentally undermines the application's ability to maintain proper process state management and system coordination. Local users can effectively render the application unusable by exhausting system resources through the creation of excessive PID files, potentially affecting system stability and availability. The vulnerability demonstrates poor defensive programming practices where the application lacks proper bounds checking or resource management mechanisms to handle abnormal file system states.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on implementing proper file system access controls and process management validation. System administrators should ensure that the /tmp directory has appropriate permissions to prevent unauthorized file creation, while the application itself should implement robust validation mechanisms to detect and reject malformed or excessive PID file entries. The solution aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.004, which covers resource exhaustion attacks, and requires implementing proper input sanitization and process state management. Additionally, regular security audits should verify that applications properly handle file system conditions and implement appropriate rate limiting or validation mechanisms to prevent similar exploitation patterns across different software implementations.