CVE-2017-15920 in Anti-Malware
Summary
by MITRE
In Watchdog Anti-Malware 2.74.186.150 and Online Security Pro 2.74.186.150, the zam32.sys driver contains a NULL pointer dereference vulnerability that gets triggered when sending an operation to ioctl 0x80002054. This is due to the input buffer being NULL or the input buffer size being 0 as they are not validated.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/05/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-15920 affects Watchdog Anti-Malware and Online Security Pro software versions 2.74.186.150, specifically targeting the zam32.sys kernel driver component. This represents a critical security flaw that exposes the system to potential exploitation through improper input validation mechanisms within the device driver's ioctl handling functionality. The vulnerability manifests when the system processes a specific operation identified by ioctl command 0x80002054, which is a standard Windows kernel interface mechanism used for device control operations.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in the absence of proper input validation within the zam32.sys driver's handling of the ioctl 0x80002054 operation. According to CWE-476, this constitutes a NULL pointer dereference vulnerability where the driver fails to validate whether the input buffer parameter is NULL or whether the input buffer size is zero before attempting to access or process the buffer contents. The driver implementation does not perform essential parameter validation checks that should occur during the ioctl operation processing, allowing malicious actors to craft specially crafted input parameters that trigger the NULL pointer dereference condition.
This vulnerability creates significant operational impact as it can lead to system instability, crashes, or potentially allow privilege escalation attacks within the kernel context. The NULL pointer dereference condition typically results in a system crash or blue screen of death when the driver attempts to access memory locations that have not been properly initialized or validated. From an attacker perspective, this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1068, which involves exploiting local privilege escalation opportunities by leveraging kernel-level vulnerabilities. The flaw exists in the kernel-mode driver component, making it particularly dangerous as successful exploitation could allow attackers to execute arbitrary code with kernel-level privileges.
The exploitation of this vulnerability requires minimal prerequisites as it can be triggered through standard device driver interaction mechanisms without requiring elevated privileges for initial access. Security researchers have identified that this vulnerability falls under the category of kernel-level memory corruption flaws that can be exploited by malicious software to gain unauthorized access to system resources. The lack of input validation creates a predictable exploitation vector where attackers can simply send a crafted ioctl request with NULL buffer parameters to trigger the system crash or potentially achieve more sophisticated attack objectives.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should include immediate software updates from Watchdog to address the NULL pointer dereference issue within the zam32.sys driver. System administrators should implement proper input validation controls and ensure that all device drivers undergo rigorous security testing before deployment. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of following secure coding practices and adhering to standards such as the CERT Secure Coding Standards for kernel-level programming, which emphasize the necessity of validating all input parameters before processing. Organizations should also consider implementing runtime protections and monitoring mechanisms to detect suspicious ioctl operations that might indicate exploitation attempts against similar vulnerabilities. Additionally, maintaining up-to-date security patches and conducting regular vulnerability assessments of system components can help prevent exploitation of this and similar kernel-level flaws.