CVE-2019-18602 in OpenAFS
Summary
by MITRE
OpenAFS before 1.6.24 and 1.8.x before 1.8.5 is prone to an information disclosure vulnerability because uninitialized scalars are sent over the network to a peer.
Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/29/2024
OpenAFS represents a widely deployed distributed filesystem solution that provides secure file sharing across heterogeneous networks while maintaining authentication and access control mechanisms. The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-18602 specifically affects versions prior to 1.6.24 and 1.8.5 within the 1.8.x series, creating a significant security risk due to improper handling of memory allocation during network communication. This flaw manifests when the system sends uninitialized scalar values across network connections to peer servers, potentially exposing sensitive data that should remain confidential within the application's memory space. The vulnerability stems from inadequate initialization of variables before network transmission, allowing residual data from previous operations to be inadvertently disclosed to remote systems. This type of information disclosure can provide attackers with valuable insights into the internal state of the system, potentially revealing authentication tokens, session identifiers, or other sensitive operational data that could be leveraged for further exploitation. The issue aligns with CWE-248, which addresses the exposure of uninitialized variables, and represents a classic example of how seemingly minor programming oversights can create substantial security implications in distributed systems. From an operational perspective, this vulnerability can be exploited by remote attackers who intercept network traffic between OpenAFS servers, potentially gaining access to authentication credentials or other confidential information that could facilitate privilege escalation or unauthorized access to protected resources. The impact extends beyond simple data leakage since the disclosed information could enable attackers to craft more sophisticated attacks against the system infrastructure. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper memory management in networked applications where data integrity and confidentiality are paramount. Security practitioners should note that this issue affects the core communication protocols within OpenAFS, making it particularly dangerous as it operates at the fundamental level of the system's distributed architecture. The flaw also connects to ATT&CK technique T1005, which involves data from local system discovery, as the uninitialized data may contain system-specific information that could aid in reconnaissance activities. Organizations utilizing OpenAFS must prioritize immediate patching of affected versions to prevent potential exploitation, as the vulnerability does not require authentication to be triggered and can be exploited through passive network monitoring. The remediation process involves upgrading to versions 1.6.24 or 1.8.5 and newer, which contain proper initialization routines for scalar variables used in network communications. Additionally, network monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual data patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts, while security audits should verify that all networked applications properly initialize memory before transmission to prevent similar vulnerabilities from emerging in other components of the infrastructure.