CVE-2018-19629 in Perceptive Content Server
Summary
by MITRE
A Denial of Service vulnerability in the ImageNow Server service in Hyland Perceptive Content Server before 7.1.5 allows an attacker to crash the service via a TCP connection.
Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/30/2023
The CVE-2018-19629 vulnerability represents a critical denial of service weakness within the ImageNow Server service component of Hyland Perceptive Content Server software. This vulnerability specifically affects versions prior to 7.1.5 and exposes the system to remote exploitation through malformed TCP connections. The flaw resides in how the service handles incoming network connections, creating a pathway for malicious actors to deliberately disrupt the availability of the content management platform. The vulnerability demonstrates a fundamental weakness in the server's connection handling mechanisms and input validation processes.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of TCP connection parameters and data streams received by the ImageNow Server service. When an attacker establishes a TCP connection and sends specially crafted data or malformed connection requests, the service fails to properly process these inputs and subsequently crashes or becomes unresponsive. This behavior aligns with CWE-400, which classifies unchecked resource consumption as a weakness that can lead to denial of service conditions. The vulnerability operates at the network protocol level where the service does not adequately sanitize or validate incoming connection data before processing it, creating a window for exploitation that can be leveraged remotely without requiring authentication credentials.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption to potentially compromise the entire content management infrastructure. Organizations relying on Hyland Perceptive Content Server for document management, archiving, and content retrieval operations face significant business continuity risks when this vulnerability is exploited. The crash of the ImageNow Server service results in immediate unavailability of content services, affecting user access to critical documents and potentially disrupting business processes that depend on the platform. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to repeatedly crash the service, creating sustained denial of service conditions that can last until the service is manually restarted or the system is rebooted. This vulnerability particularly affects enterprise environments where continuous availability of content management systems is essential for operational efficiency.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2018-19629 primarily focus on applying the vendor-provided patch that addresses the specific connection handling flaw in Hyland Perceptive Content Server versions prior to 7.1.5. Organizations should prioritize immediate deployment of the security update to prevent exploitation. Network-level defenses including firewall rules and intrusion detection systems can provide additional protection by monitoring and blocking suspicious TCP connection patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. The implementation of connection rate limiting and monitoring mechanisms can help detect anomalous connection behavior before it leads to service disruption. Security teams should also consider implementing network segmentation to isolate the ImageNow Server service from critical business systems and establish automated monitoring for service availability. This vulnerability demonstrates the importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches and implementing defense-in-depth strategies as outlined in the MITRE ATT&CK framework's defense evasion and denial of service tactics.