The vulnerable system is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed below, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed “remotely exploitable” and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers). An example of a network attack is an attacker causing a denial of service by sending a specially crafted TCP packet across a wide area network (e.g., CVE-2004-0230).
Attack Complexity
Low
AC
The attacker must take no measurable action to exploit the vulnerability. The attack requires no target-specific circumvention to exploit the vulnerability. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable system.
Privileges Required
High
PR
The attacker requires privileges that provide significant (e.g., administrative) control over the vulnerable system allowing full access to the vulnerable system’s settings and files.
Scope
Unchanged
S
An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In the case of a vulnerability in a virtualized environment, an exploited vulnerability in one guest instance would not affect neighboring guest instances.
Confidentiality
None
C
There is no impact on the confidentiality of the system; the attacker does not gain the ability to read any data.
Integrity
None
I
There is no impact on the integrity of the system; the attacker does not gain the ability to modify any files or information on the target system.
Availability
High
A
There is a total shutdown of the affected resource. The attacker can deny access to the system or data, potentially causing significant loss to the organization.
Clam AntiVirus Cabinet-file handling Denial of Service Vulnerability
iDEFENSE Security Advisory 11.04.05
http://www.idefense.com/application/poi/display?type=vulnerabilities
November 4, 2005
I. BACKGROUND
Clam AntiVirus is a GPL anti-virus toolkit for Unix.
II. DESCRIPTION
Remote exploitation of a design error in Clam AntiVirus ClamAV allows
attackers to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition.
The vulnerability specifically exists with the libmspack library, which
is included in ClamAV. The vulnerability can be found in the cabd_find
function within mspack/cabd.c:
for (offset = 0; offset < flen; offset += length) {
length = flen - offset;
[... read length from file ...]
for (p = &buf[0], pend = &buf[length]; p < pend; ) {
switch (state) {
[ ... ]
case 19:
=> header has been completely read, cablen has been read from bytes 8-11
[...]
/* likely cabinet found -- try reading it */
cab = sys->alloc(sys, sizeof(struct mscabd_cabinet_p); => an
mscabd_cabinet_p entry will be allocated each time
/* cabinet read correctly! */
offset = caboff + cablen;
=> if cablen (and caboff) == 0, offset will be equal to 0
[...]
/* restart search */
[...]
length = 0;
p = pend;
state = 0;
=> if offset == 0, we will restart at the beginning of the file =>
(because length == 0, so offset will still be zero in the next
iteration)
break;
}
}
}
If this function is called with a length value of zero, an infinite loop
occurs. The comments above explain the scenario.
III. ANALYSIS
Successful exploitation requires an attacker to send a specially
constructed CAB file through a mail gateway or personal anti-virus
client utilizing the ClamAV scanning engine.
The infinite loop will cause the ClamAV software to use all available
processor resources, resulting in a denial of service or severe
degradation of system performance. Ultimately, the OOM handler will
terminate a task in order to alleviate the stress on the system.
IV. DETECTION
iDEFENSE has confirmed this vulnerability on ClamAV 0.86.1. All previous
versions are suspected vulnerable to this issue.
V. WORKAROUND
Archive file analysis can be disabled (--no-archive) but this can have
severe impacts on the virus detection functionality.
VI. VENDOR RESPONSE
The vendor has released clamav 0.87.1 to address this vulnerability. It
is available for download at:
http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/clamav/clamav-0.87.1.tar.gz?download
VII. CVE INFORMATION
A Mitre Corp. Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) number has not
been assigned yet.
VIII. DISCLOSURE TIMELINE
10/07/2005 Initial vendor notification
10/12/2005 Initial vendor response
11/04/2005 Coordinated public disclosure
IX. CREDIT
The discoverer of this vulnerability wishes to remain anonymous.
Get paid for vulnerability research
http://www.idefense.com/poi/teams/vcp.jsp
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X. LEGAL NOTICES
Copyright (c) 2005 iDEFENSE, Inc.
Permission is granted for the redistribution of this alert
electronically. It may not be edited in any way without the express
written consent of iDEFENSE. If you wish to reprint the whole or any
part of this alert in any other medium other than electronically, please
email customerservice (at) idefense (dot) com [email concealed] for permission.
Disclaimer: The information in the advisory is believed to be accurate
at the time of publishing based on currently available information. Use
of the information constitutes acceptance for use in an AS IS condition.
There are no warranties with regard to this information. Neither the
author nor the publisher accepts any liability for any direct, indirect,
or consequential loss or damage arising from use of, or reliance on,
this information.
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