CVE-2019-9833 in Screen Stream
Summary
by MITRE
The Screen Stream application through 3.0.15 for Android allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via many simultaneous /start-stop requests.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/09/2024
The Screen Stream application version 3.0.15 and earlier for android platforms presents a significant denial of service vulnerability that can be exploited by remote attackers through excessive concurrent /start-stop requests. This vulnerability represents a critical flaw in the application's request handling mechanism, where the system fails to properly manage or limit simultaneous connection attempts, leading to resource exhaustion and complete service unavailability.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and request processing within the application's core networking components. When multiple simultaneous /start-stop requests are initiated against the Screen Stream application, the system lacks proper rate limiting or queue management mechanisms to handle such concurrent load. This results in the application's threads or processes becoming overwhelmed, causing memory leaks, thread exhaustion, or resource contention that ultimately leads to the application crashing or becoming unresponsive. The vulnerability specifically targets the application's streaming session management functionality where start-stop commands are processed, creating a condition where legitimate users cannot establish or maintain streaming connections.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses a substantial risk to organizations that rely on Screen Stream for critical streaming operations or remote monitoring services. The denial of service condition can be easily triggered by remote attackers without requiring any special privileges or authentication, making it particularly dangerous in environments where the application is exposed to untrusted networks. The impact extends beyond simple service interruption as it can affect business continuity, remote access capabilities, and potentially compromise the integrity of streaming data flows. The vulnerability is particularly concerning in industrial or enterprise settings where continuous monitoring and streaming services are essential for operational efficiency and security monitoring.
The root cause of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-400, which categorizes resource exhaustion flaws in software systems. This weakness specifically manifests in the application's inability to handle concurrent requests properly, creating a scenario where system resources are consumed faster than they can be released or replenished. The vulnerability also relates to ATT&CK technique T1499.004, which covers network denial of service attacks through resource exhaustion. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including rate limiting mechanisms, connection throttling, and proper input validation to prevent excessive concurrent requests from overwhelming the application's processing capabilities. Additionally, network-level firewalls and intrusion detection systems should be configured to monitor and block suspicious patterns of /start-stop requests that exceed normal operational thresholds. Regular application updates and security patches should be deployed to address this vulnerability, while implementing proper logging and monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts and maintain system availability during attack scenarios.