ProFTPD mkdir Buffer Overflow

critical Nessus Plugin ID 10189

Synopsis

The remote FTP server is vulnerable to a buffer overflow attack.

Description

It is possible to crash the remote FTP service by creating a large number of nested directories with names no longer than 255 chars. This issue is known to affect ProFTPD, although other FTP servers may be affected as well.

It is likely that a remote attacker can leverage this issue to execute arbitrary code on the remote host, subject to the privileges under which the service runs.

Solution

Configure the service so that directories are not writable by 'anonymous' or any untrusted users.

If running ProFTPD, upgrade to version 1.2.0pre6 or later; otherwise, contact the vendor to see if an update exists.

See Also

https://seclists.org/bugtraq/1999/Aug/337

https://seclists.org/bugtraq/1999/Aug/356

Plugin Details

Severity: Critical

ID: 10189

File Name: proftpd_mkdir_overflow.nasl

Version: 1.50

Type: remote

Family: FTP

Published: 9/10/1999

Updated: 11/15/2018

Configuration: Enable paranoid mode

Supported Sensors: Nessus

Risk Information

VPR

Risk Factor: Medium

Score: 6.7

CVSS v2

Risk Factor: Critical

Base Score: 10

Temporal Score: 7.8

Vector: CVSS2#AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Vulnerability Information

CPE: cpe:/a:proftpd:proftpd

Required KB Items: Settings/ParanoidReport, ftp/login, ftp/writeable_dir

Exploit Available: true

Exploit Ease: Exploits are available

Vulnerability Publication Date: 8/27/1999

Reference Information

CVE: CVE-1999-0911

BID: 612