CVE-2024-25254 in SuperScan
Summary
by MITRE • 11/12/2024
SuperScan v4.1 was discovered to contain a buffer overflow via the Hostname/IP parameter.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/20/2024
SuperScan v4.1 suffers from a critical buffer overflow vulnerability that manifests when processing the Hostname/IP parameter, representing a significant security weakness that could be exploited by malicious actors to compromise systems. This vulnerability falls under the common weakness enumeration CWE-121, which specifically addresses stack-based buffer overflow conditions where insufficient bounds checking allows attackers to overwrite adjacent memory locations. The flaw occurs within the network scanning utility's input validation mechanisms, where the application fails to properly sanitize or limit the length of hostname or IP address values passed to its internal processing functions. When an attacker provides an excessively long string as the Hostname/IP parameter, the application's buffer allocation does not account for the overflow, creating opportunities for memory corruption that can lead to arbitrary code execution.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service scenarios, as it provides potential attackers with pathways to execute malicious code with the privileges of the SuperScan application process. Attackers could leverage this weakness to inject and execute arbitrary commands, potentially gaining unauthorized access to network resources or escalating their privileges within the compromised system. The vulnerability's exploitation is particularly concerning given SuperScan's intended use as a network diagnostic tool, which often runs with elevated privileges on many systems. This makes the attack surface more attractive to threat actors who may seek to leverage such tools for reconnaissance or lateral movement within network environments. The buffer overflow could enable attackers to overwrite critical program execution pointers, return addresses, or other memory structures essential for proper application operation, leading to unpredictable behavior or complete system compromise.
Security practitioners should implement immediate mitigations including input length validation, stack canaries, and address space layout randomization to reduce the exploitability of this vulnerability. The recommended approach involves restricting the maximum length of Hostname/IP parameters to prevent buffer overflows, implementing proper bounds checking mechanisms, and ensuring that the application employs modern security practices such as stack protection mechanisms and non-executable memory regions. Additionally, network segmentation and access controls should be enforced to limit the potential impact of exploitation, while regular security updates and patches should be deployed to address the underlying vulnerability. Organizations using SuperScan v4.1 should consider alternative network scanning tools that have been designed with proper input validation and memory safety mechanisms, aligning with industry best practices outlined in the MITRE ATT&CK framework for network discovery and privilege escalation techniques. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of input validation in network utilities and the necessity of following secure coding practices to prevent memory corruption vulnerabilities that could be exploited for system compromise.