Executive brief
A vulnerability in the webdist CGI program on SGI IRIX systems allows remote attackers to take control of the server. By sending specially crafted web requests, an attacker can execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system. This could lead to a total compromise of the server, unauthorized access to data, or disruption of services.
Technical details
This vulnerability is a command injection flaw (CWE-77) within the webdist.cgi program, a component of the SGI IRIX operating system. The root cause is the improper neutralization of shell metacharacters provided in the 'distloc' parameter. A remote, unauthenticated attacker can exploit this by sending a crafted HTTP request containing shell commands to the vulnerable CGI script. Successful exploitation allows for arbitrary command execution with the privileges of the web server user. Patches were released by SGI in May 1997 to address this issue.
Affected products
- SGI IRIX All versions prior to May 1997 patches
Timeline
- 1997-05-01: advisory: SGI released security advisory 19970501-02-PX
- 1997-05-06: disclosed: NVD publication date