cbcvebase.
CVE-2009-4178
published 2009-12-10

CVE-2009-4178: Heap-based buffer overflow in OvWebHelp.exe in HP OpenView Network Node Manager (OV NNM) 7.01, 7.51, and 7.53 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code…

PriorityP272critical10CVSS 2.0
AVNACLAuNCCICAC
EXPLOIT
EPSS
74.02%
99.4th percentile
Heap-based buffer overflow in OvWebHelp.exe in HP OpenView Network Node Manager (OV NNM) 7.01, 7.51, and 7.53 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a long Topic parameter.

Affected

3 ranges
VendorProductVersion rangeFixed in
hpopenview_network_node_manager
hpopenview_network_node_manager
hpopenview_network_node_manager

Detection & IOCsextracted from sources · hover to see the quote

path/OvCgi/OvWebHelp.exe
path/OvCgi/OvWebHelp.exe
registry0x5a01d78d
commandPOST /OvCgi/OvWebHelp.exe Topic=<5123 bytes>+RET+payload
filenameOvWebHelp.exe
bytes
\xDF\xf2\xe5\x77
  • Detect POST requests to /OvCgi/OvWebHelp.exe with an abnormally large Topic parameter (>57 bytes up to thousands of bytes) as the exploit trigger.
  • The exploit sends a POST body with both 'Topic' and 'Target' parameters; large values in either field alongside Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded should be flagged.
  • Payload bad characters for this vulnerability include null bytes and common URL metacharacters; encoded/alpha-mixed shellcode in the Topic parameter is a strong indicator.
  • The Metasploit module uses a return address from ov.dll (0x5a01d78d); presence of this 4-byte sequence in POST body data targeting OvWebHelp.exe is a strong exploit indicator.
  • The PoC exploit uses User-Agent 'BackTrack'; this combined with a POST to /OvCgi/OvWebHelp.exe is a high-confidence detection signal.
  • The exploit targets C:\Program Files\HP OpenView\www\cgi-bin\ on Windows 2003 SP2; monitor process creation from OvWebHelp.exe spawning cmd.exe or other shells.
  • ·The Metasploit module return address (0x5a01d78d from ov.dll) is specific to HP OV NNM 7.50; the NVD advisory covers versions 7.01, 7.51, and 7.53, which may use different offsets.
  • ·The standalone PoC uses a kernel32.dll call-esp gadget (0x77e5f2df) tested on Windows 2003 SP2; this address will differ on other OS versions/patch levels.
  • ·The Metasploit module describes this as a stack buffer overflow while the NVD entry classifies it as a heap-based buffer overflow; detection logic should account for both overflow types.
  • ·Payload space is constrained to 650 bytes with numerous bad characters; URL-encoded or alpha-mixed shellcode encoding should be expected in the Topic parameter.
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