IBM AIX 5.1/5.2/5.3 ftpd denial of service

CVSS Meta Temp Score
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CTI Interest Score
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5.9$0-$5k0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability marked as critical has been reported in IBM AIX 5.1/5.2/5.3. This impacts an unknown function of the component ftpd. Performing a manipulation results in denial of service. This vulnerability was named CVE-2005-2238. The attack needs to be approached locally. There is no available exploit. It is suggested to install a patch to address this issue.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical has been found in IBM AIX 5.1/5.2/5.3 (Operating System). This affects an unknown code of the component ftpd. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a denial of service vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-404. The product does not release or incorrectly releases a resource before it is made available for re-use. This is going to have an impact on availability. The summary by CVE is:

ftpd in IBM AIX 5.1, 5.2 and 5.3 allows remote authenticated users to cause a denial of service (port exhaustion and memory consumption) by using all ephemeral ports.

The bug was discovered 07/08/2005. The weakness was presented 07/11/2005 with IBM (Website). The advisory is shared at www-1.ibm.com. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2005-2238 since 07/12/2005. An attack has to be approached locally. No form of authentication is needed for exploitation. Neither technical details nor an exploit are publicly available.

The vulnerability was handled as a non-public zero-day exploit for at least 1532 days. During that time the estimated underground price was around $0-$5k. The commercial vulnerability scanner Qualys is able to test this issue with plugin 27271 (IBM AIX FTP Ephemeral Port Exhaustion Denial of Service Vulnerability).

Upgrading to version 6.1 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying a patch is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at aix.software.ibm.com. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be patching the affected component.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at X-Force (21295), SecurityFocus (BID 14193†), OSVDB (17812†), Secunia (SA16016†) and SecurityTracker (ID 1014421†). Further details are available at kb.cert.org. Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

Productinfo

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CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 6.2
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 5.9

VulDB Base Score: 6.2
VulDB Temp Score: 5.9
VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

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VulDB Base Score: 🔍
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Exploitinginfo

Class: Denial of service
CWE: CWE-404
CAPEC: 🔍
ATT&CK: 🔍

Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: No

Availability: 🔍
Status: Not defined

EPSS Score: 🔍
EPSS Percentile: 🔍

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔍

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Qualys ID: 🔍
Qualys Name: 🔍

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Patch
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔍

Upgrade: AIX 6.1
Patch: aix.software.ibm.com

Timelineinfo

05/01/2001 🔍
07/08/2005 +1528 days 🔍
07/08/2005 +0 days 🔍
07/08/2005 +0 days 🔍
07/11/2005 +3 days 🔍
07/11/2005 +0 days 🔍
07/12/2005 +0 days 🔍
07/12/2005 +0 days 🔍
07/12/2005 +0 days 🔍
11/15/2005 +126 days 🔍
06/30/2025 +7167 days 🔍

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: ibm.com

Advisory: www-1.ibm.com
Researcher: http://www.ibm.com
Organization: IBM
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2005-2238 (🔍)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2005-2238
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-1593
X-Force: 21295
SecurityFocus: 14193
Secunia: 16016 - AIX ftpd Unspecified Denial of Service Vulnerability, Less Critical
OSVDB: 17812 - IBM AIX ftpd Ephemeral Port Exhaustion DoS
SecurityTracker: 1014421
Vulnerability Center: 9631 - IBM AIX Remote DoS via ftpd, Medium

Misc.: 🔍

Entryinfo

Created: 07/12/2005 10:41
Updated: 06/30/2025 05:59
Changes: 07/12/2005 10:41 (71), 07/03/2019 16:10 (10), 03/11/2021 16:58 (3), 06/30/2025 05:59 (16)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

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