CVE-2014-9465 in Collaboration Platform
Summary
by MITRE
senddocument.php in Zarafa WebApp before 2.0 beta 3 and WebAccess in Zarafa Collaboration Platform (ZCP) 7.x before 7.1.12 beta 1 and 7.2.x before 7.2.0 beta 1 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (/tmp disk consumption) by uploading a large number of files.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/16/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-9465 affects the Zarafa WebApp and WebAccess components of the Zarafa Collaboration Platform, specifically targeting versions prior to the mentioned security patches. This issue resides in the senddocument.php script which handles document uploads within the web interface. The flaw represents a classic denial of service condition where malicious actors can consume excessive system resources, particularly disk space in the /tmp directory, leading to system unavailability and service disruption.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and resource management within the document upload processing pipeline. When users upload multiple large files through the senddocument.php endpoint, the system fails to properly enforce limits on file size or quantity, nor does it implement effective cleanup mechanisms for temporary file storage. This allows attackers to continuously upload files that accumulate in the /tmp filesystem, eventually exhausting available disk space and causing the system to become unresponsive or crash entirely. The vulnerability operates at the application layer and leverages the web interface's file handling capabilities without proper authentication checks or resource constraints.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption to potentially compromise the entire collaboration platform's availability and integrity. System administrators may experience unexpected downtime, increased monitoring overhead, and potential data loss if the system becomes unresponsive due to disk exhaustion. The attack vector is particularly concerning as it requires no elevated privileges and can be executed through normal web browser interactions, making it accessible to any remote user with access to the vulnerable web interface. This vulnerability directly maps to CWE-400, which describes unchecked resource consumption, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.001 for network denial of service attacks.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2014-9465 should prioritize immediate patch deployment to the affected Zarafa versions, specifically upgrading to WebApp 2.0 beta 3 or later, and WebAccess 7.1.12 beta 1 or 7.2.0 beta 1 releases. Additionally, administrators should implement strict file size limits and upload quotas within the web application configuration, coupled with automated cleanup processes for temporary file storage. Network-level firewalls can be configured to limit upload rates and implement connection throttling to prevent rapid exploitation. System monitoring should be enhanced to track /tmp disk usage and trigger alerts when consumption exceeds predefined thresholds. The implementation of proper input validation and resource management practices, including temporary file cleanup routines and maximum upload size enforcement, should be integrated into all web application components to prevent similar vulnerabilities from emerging in future deployments.