< back to advisories
HydraIRC - DCC Denial Of Service
Portcullis Security Advisory 07_008
Vulnerable System:
HydraIRC
Vulnerability Title:
Denial of service due to format string vulnerability in DCC file transfer
negotiation.
Vulnerability Discovery and Development:
Portcullis Security Testing Services
Credit for Discovery
Nico Leidecker of Portcullis Computer Security Ltd discovered this
vulnerability. Further research was then carried out.
Vendor Status:
The vendor has been informed and the vulnerability has been fixed.
Affected systems:
Version 0.3.151 was tested to be vulnerable.
Details:
HydraIRC is an IRC client supporting DCC file transfers. The client is prone
to a format string vulnerability as it passes user input to a function
expecting a format string. This only occurs, when the DCC file transfer
negotiation fails.
Impact:
By sending a special crafted DCC file transfer request to the victim, an
attacker is then able to conduct a Denial of Service attack against them.
Exploit:
Proof of concept exploit code is available.
Copyright:
Copyright © Portcullis Computer Security Limited 2007, All rights reserved
worldwide. Permission is hereby granted for the electronic redistribution of this
information. It is not to be edited or altered in any way without the express
written consent of Portcullis Computer Security Limited.
Disclaimer:
The information herein contained may change without notice. Use of this
information constitutes acceptance for use in an AS IS condition. There are
NO warranties, implied or otherwise, with regard to this information or its
use. Any use of this information is at the user's risk. In no event shall the
author/distributor (Portcullis Computer Security Limited) be held liable for
any damages whatsoever arising out of or in connection with the use or spread
of this information.