Executive brief
Aerospike Database Server is a high-performance NoSQL database used for large-scale web applications. A critical vulnerability in its querying system allows an attacker to take full control of the server by sending a specially crafted network packet. This could lead to the theft of sensitive customer data, complete service disruption, or the use of the server as a foothold for further attacks within the corporate network.
Technical details
A stack-based buffer overflow exists in Aerospike Database Server 3.10.0.3 within the querying functionality. The vulnerability is located in the `as_sindex__simatch_list_by_set_binid` function, which is triggered during the processing of secondary index queries. When the server demarshals a transaction packet, it fails to properly validate the length of the string provided in the `AS_MSG_FIELD_TYPE_SET` field before copying it into a fixed-size stack buffer. An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit this by sending a malicious packet to the database port, leading to arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the database process. This vulnerability was identified by Cisco Talos as TALOS-2016-0268.
Affected products
- Aerospike Aerospike Database Server 3.10.0.3
Timeline
- 2016-11-20: disclosed: Vulnerability reported to vendor by Cisco Talos
- 2017-01-09: advisory: Public advisory released by Cisco Talos
- 2017-01-26: advisory: NVD publication date