CVE-2014-6097 in DB2
Summary
by MITRE
IBM DB2 9.7 before FP10 and 9.8 through FP5 on Linux, UNIX, and Windows allows remote authenticated users to cause a denial of service (daemon crash) via a crafted ALTER TABLE statement.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/03/2022
IBM DB2 database management system versions 9.7 before fix pack 10 and 9.8 through fix pack 5 contain a vulnerability that enables remote authenticated attackers to trigger a denial of service condition through specifically crafted ALTER TABLE statements. This vulnerability represents a classic buffer overflow or memory corruption flaw that manifests when the database daemon processes malformed table modification commands. The issue stems from inadequate input validation within the table alteration functionality, allowing maliciously constructed SQL statements to exploit memory handling mechanisms within the database engine's processing pipeline. The vulnerability specifically affects installations running on Linux, UNIX, and Windows operating systems, indicating a platform-agnostic nature that amplifies its potential impact across diverse deployment environments. When exploited, the crafted ALTER TABLE statement causes the DB2 daemon process to crash and restart, resulting in temporary unavailability of database services and potential disruption to business operations that depend on the affected database system. This type of vulnerability aligns with CWE-121, which describes heap-based buffer overflow conditions, and falls under the broader category of memory corruption vulnerabilities that can lead to service disruption. The attack requires authentication to the database system, which means that unauthorized access to database credentials or exploitation of legitimate user accounts with appropriate privileges could enable this attack vector. From an operational perspective, this vulnerability creates significant risk for organizations relying on DB2 for critical data operations, as the daemon crash can result in extended downtime during recovery processes and potential data consistency issues. The impact extends beyond simple service interruption to include potential data loss scenarios if the crash occurs during active transaction processing. Organizations may experience service degradation or complete outages depending on the frequency of table modification operations and the criticality of the affected database instances. The vulnerability's classification under the ATT&CK framework would fall within the T1499.004 sub-technique for "Network Denial of Service" and potentially T1566.001 for "Phishing" if the attack requires credential compromise. The attack surface is limited to authenticated users with appropriate database privileges, but this still represents a significant risk in environments where database access controls may be insufficient or where compromised accounts exist. Mitigation strategies should include applying the relevant IBM security fix packs immediately, implementing strict access controls to limit database administrative privileges, and monitoring database logs for unusual ALTER TABLE operations. Network segmentation and database activity monitoring can help detect potential exploitation attempts before they result in service disruption. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing database firewalls or intrusion prevention systems that can detect and block malformed SQL statements before they reach the database engine. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of regular security patch management and proper input validation in database systems, as it represents a failure to properly sanitize user inputs before processing them within critical system components. This particular flaw highlights the need for robust error handling within database engines to prevent malicious input from causing system instability and underscores the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches for enterprise database systems.