Vulnerability Note VU#602457

MySQL fails to properly validate COM_TABLE_DUMP packets

Original Release date: 05 May 2006 | Last revised: 17 May 2006

Overview

MySQL contains a buffer overflow that may allow a remote, authenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code on a vulnerable server.

Description

MySQL and COM_TABLE_DUMP

MySQL is an open-source database system available for Microsoft Windows, Linux, and other UNIX-based operating systems. Command packets are sent to the MySQL server to issue instructions to that server. One such command packet type is COM_TABLE_DUMP, which the MySQL Internals Manual describes as:

    COM_TABLE_DUMP (used by slave server to get master table)
The Problem

MySQL fails to properly validate user-controlled parameters within COM_TABLE_DUMP packets. If an attacker sends a series of specially crafted COM_TABLE_DUMP packets to a vulnerable MySQL server, that attacker may be able to cause a buffer overflow.

Considerations

Some level of authentication is needed to exploit this vulnerability. Exploit code for this vulnerability is publicly available

Impact

A remote, authenticated attacker may be able to execute arbitrary code on a MySQL server.

Solution

Upgrade
This issue is corrected in MySQL versions 4.0.27, 4.1.19, 5.0.21, and 5.1.10. Refer to the MySQL downloads page to get the appropriate updated version.


Disable anonymous access to MySQL

Although disabling anonymous access to MySQL does not prevent attacks from occurring, it does prevent unauthenticated users from attempting to exploit the vulnerability.

Systems Affected (Learn More)

VendorStatusDate NotifiedDate Updated
MySQL ABAffected-05 May 2006
Red Hat, Inc.Not Affected-17 May 2006
If you are a vendor and your product is affected, let us know.

CVSS Metrics (Learn More)

Group Score Vector
Base N/A N/A
Temporal N/A N/A
Environmental N/A N/A

References

Credit

This vulnerability was reported by Stefano Di Paola.

This document was written by Jeff Gennari.

Other Information

  • CVE IDs: CVE-2006-1518
  • Date Public: 02 May 2006
  • Date First Published: 05 May 2006
  • Date Last Updated: 17 May 2006
  • Severity Metric: 12.33
  • Document Revision: 31

Feedback

If you have feedback, comments, or additional information about this vulnerability, please send us email.