CVE-2017-5787 in Version Control Repository Manager
Summary
by MITRE
A remote denial of service vulnerability in HPE Version Control Repository Manager (VCRM) in all versions prior to 7.6 was found.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/04/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-5787 represents a critical remote denial of service weakness within HPE Version Control Repository Manager (VCRM) software. This flaw affects all versions of the product prior to the 7.6 release, indicating a significant security gap that could be exploited by remote attackers to disrupt service availability. The issue stems from inadequate input validation mechanisms within the VCRM application, specifically in how it processes certain network requests and data inputs. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability by sending specially crafted requests to the affected system, potentially causing the application to crash or become unresponsive, thereby denying legitimate users access to the version control repository services. The vulnerability impacts organizations that rely on HPE VCRM for managing software development artifacts and version control operations, creating potential business disruption and operational downtime.
The technical implementation of this denial of service vulnerability involves improper handling of malformed or unexpected input data within the VCRM's processing pipeline. When the application receives certain crafted network requests, it fails to properly validate or sanitize the input parameters before processing them, leading to an application state where the service becomes unavailable. This type of vulnerability falls under CWE-400, which categorizes weaknesses related to resource management and input validation failures. The flaw likely exists in the web application layer where HTTP requests are parsed and processed, potentially involving buffer overflows, stack corruption, or other memory management issues that cause the application to terminate unexpectedly. The vulnerability's remote nature means that attackers do not require local system access or authentication credentials to exploit the weakness, making it particularly dangerous for publicly accessible systems.
The operational impact of CVE-2017-5787 extends beyond simple service disruption, as it can severely affect software development workflows and organizational productivity. When the VCRM service becomes unavailable due to this vulnerability, development teams lose access to their version control repositories, potentially halting ongoing projects and preventing critical code updates or deployments. This disruption can cascade through the entire software development lifecycle, affecting continuous integration and delivery processes that depend on stable version control infrastructure. Organizations may experience significant downtime costs, with potential delays in software releases and increased incident response overhead. The vulnerability also raises concerns about the overall security posture of HPE VCRM implementations, as it demonstrates inadequate defensive programming practices that could indicate similar weaknesses in other application components.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2017-5787 primarily focus on upgrading to HPE VCRM version 7.6 or later, which includes patches addressing the input validation deficiencies. Organizations should implement network segmentation and access controls to limit exposure of the vulnerable system to untrusted networks, reducing the attack surface available to potential adversaries. Network monitoring solutions should be deployed to detect unusual traffic patterns or potential exploitation attempts targeting the VCRM service. Additionally, implementing intrusion detection systems with rules specific to this vulnerability can help identify and block malicious traffic. Organizations should also consider temporary workarounds such as disabling unnecessary network services or restricting access to the VCRM application through firewalls until a proper upgrade can be completed. The remediation process should include comprehensive testing to ensure that the upgrade does not introduce compatibility issues with existing development environments or automated processes that depend on VCRM functionality. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499, which covers network denial of service attacks, and demonstrates the importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches across enterprise infrastructure components.