CVE-2019-8381 in tcpreplay
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in Tcpreplay 4.3.1. An invalid memory access occurs in do_checksum in checksum.c. It can be triggered by sending a crafted pcap file to the tcpreplay-edit binary. It allows an attacker to cause a Denial of Service (Segmentation fault) or possibly have unspecified other impact.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/10/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-8381 represents a critical memory access issue within the Tcpreplay 4.3.1 network packet manipulation tool suite. This flaw exists in the do_checksum function located within the checksum.c source file, demonstrating a classic example of improper input validation that can lead to severe operational consequences. The vulnerability specifically affects the tcpreplay-edit binary which is commonly used for editing and replaying network packet captures stored in pcap format. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting malicious pcap files that, when processed by the vulnerable binary, trigger invalid memory access patterns.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-125, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions where programs access memory locations beyond the bounds of allocated buffers. The flaw manifests as an invalid memory access during checksum calculation operations, where the do_checksum function fails to properly validate packet data structures before attempting to process them. This improper validation allows attackers to manipulate the input pcap file in such a way that the checksum calculation routine attempts to read from memory locations that are either unmapped or unauthorized, resulting in segmentation faults that terminate the application process. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple denial of service as the nature of the memory corruption could potentially enable more sophisticated attack vectors depending on the execution environment and memory layout.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risks to network security operations and infrastructure reliability. The tcpreplay-edit binary is frequently used in penetration testing, network analysis, and security research environments where analysts process various pcap files from different sources. An attacker who can influence the input to this tool can cause legitimate security tools to crash, effectively creating a denial of service condition that disrupts security operations. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it can be triggered through simple file manipulation without requiring complex exploitation techniques. Organizations that rely on Tcpreplay for network packet analysis, intrusion detection system testing, or security audit activities face potential operational disruption when this vulnerability is exploited. The impact can range from temporary service unavailability to complete tool failure, potentially leaving security teams unable to perform critical network analysis tasks.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2019-8381 should prioritize immediate software updates to versions that address the memory access violation in the checksum.c file. System administrators should implement strict input validation for all pcap files processed by tcpreplay-edit, including verification of file integrity and source authentication before processing. Network security teams should consider implementing sandboxing or containerization techniques when processing untrusted pcap files to limit the potential impact of exploitation. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of input sanitization and bounds checking in network packet processing applications, aligning with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for execution through command injection and T1499.004 for network disruption. Organizations should conduct regular security assessments of network analysis tools and implement network segmentation to prevent lateral movement if exploitation occurs. Additionally, monitoring systems should be configured to detect abnormal process termination patterns that may indicate successful exploitation of this vulnerability, as the segmentation fault behavior is easily detectable by intrusion detection systems monitoring for abnormal application behavior.