CWE

CWE-781 – Improper Address Validation in IOCTL with METHOD_NEITHER I/O Control Code

Read Time:1 Minute, 51 Second

Description

The software defines an IOCTL that uses METHOD_NEITHER for I/O, but it does not validate or incorrectly validates the addresses that are provided.

When an IOCTL uses the METHOD_NEITHER option for I/O control, it is the responsibility of the IOCTL to validate the addresses that have been supplied to it. If validation is missing or incorrect, attackers can supply arbitrary memory addresses, leading to code execution or a denial of service.

Modes of Introduction:

– Architecture and Design

Likelihood of Exploit:

 

Related Weaknesses

CWE-1285
CWE-822

 

Consequences

Integrity, Availability, Confidentiality: Modify Memory, Read Memory, Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands, DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart

An attacker may be able to access memory that belongs to another process or user. If the attacker can control the contents that the IOCTL writes, it may lead to code execution at high privilege levels. At the least, a crash can occur.

 

Potential Mitigations

Phase: Implementation

Effectiveness:

Description: 

If METHOD_NEITHER is required for the IOCTL, then ensure that all user-space addresses are properly validated before they are first accessed. The ProbeForRead and ProbeForWrite routines are available for this task. Also properly protect and manage the user-supplied buffers, since the I/O Manager does not do this when METHOD_NEITHER is being used. See References.

Phase: Architecture and Design

Effectiveness:

Description: 

If possible, avoid using METHOD_NEITHER in the IOCTL and select methods that effectively control the buffer size, such as METHOD_BUFFERED, METHOD_IN_DIRECT, or METHOD_OUT_DIRECT.

Phase: Architecture and Design, Implementation

Effectiveness:

Description: 

If the IOCTL is part of a driver that is only intended to be accessed by trusted users, then use proper access control for the associated device or device namespace. See References.

CVE References

 

  • CVE-2006-2373
    • Driver for file-sharing and messaging protocol allows attackers to execute arbitrary code.
  • CVE-2009-0686
    • Anti-virus product does not validate addresses, allowing attackers to gain SYSTEM privileges.
  • CVE-2008-5724
    • Personal firewall allows attackers to gain SYSTEM privileges.
  • CVE-2007-5756
    • chain: device driver for packet-capturing software allows access to an unintended IOCTL with resultant array index error.