PuTTY 0.48/0.49/0.53 Empty Element input validation

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability categorized as critical has been discovered in PuTTY 0.48/0.49/0.53. Impacted is an unknown function of the component Empty Element Handler. Such manipulation leads to input validation. This vulnerability is traded as CVE-2002-1358. There is no exploit available. It is advisable to implement a patch to correct this issue.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as very critical, has been found in PuTTY 0.48/0.49/0.53 (Connectivity Software). Affected by this issue is an unknown functionality of the component Empty Element Handler. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a input validation vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-20. The product receives input or data, but it does not validate or incorrectly validates that the input has the properties that are required to process the data safely and correctly. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:

Multiple SSH2 servers and clients do not properly handle lists with empty elements or strings, which may allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service or possibly execute arbitrary code, as demonstrated by the SSHredder SSH protocol test suite.

The weakness was shared 12/23/2002 as confirmed advisory (CERT.org). The advisory is shared for download at cert.org. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-2002-1358. The exploitation is known to be easy. The attack may be launched remotely. No form of authentication is required for exploitation. There are neither technical details nor an exploit publicly available. The current price for an exploit might be approx. USD $0-$5k (estimation calculated on 06/17/2024).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 48968 (SSH Malformed Packet Vulnerabilities - Cisco Systems), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment. It is assigned to the family CISCO and running in the context l. The commercial vulnerability scanner Qualys is able to test this issue with plugin 38223 (Multiple Vendor SSH2 Implementation Vulnerabilities).

Applying a patch is able to eliminate this problem. A possible mitigation has been published even before and not after the disclosure of the vulnerability.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at Tenable (48968), SecurityFocus (BID 6405†), SecurityTracker (ID 1005812†) and Vulnerability Center (SBV-1559†). The entries VDB-19243, VDB-19245 and VDB-19246 are related to this item. Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

• Connectivity Software

Name

• PuTTY

Version

• 0.48
• 0.49
• 0.53

License

• open-source

CPE 2.3info

• 🔍
• 🔍
• 🔍

CPE 2.2info

• 🔍
• 🔍
• 🔍

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Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.

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