cbcvebase.
CVE-2009-4179
published 2009-12-10

CVE-2009-4179: Stack-based buffer overflow in ovalarm.exe in HP OpenView Network Node Manager (OV NNM) 7.01, 7.51, and 7.53 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code…

PriorityP276critical10CVSS 2.0
AVNACLAuNCCICAC
EXPLOIT
EPSS
66.97%
99.2th percentile
Stack-based buffer overflow in ovalarm.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 HTTP Accept-Language header in an OVABverbose action.

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/ovalarm.exe
commandGET /OvCgi/ovalarm.exe?OVABverbose=1
otherOVABverbose=1 (or on/true)
registry0x5a212a4a
registry0x71c02b67
registry0x5A10A88B
cookieOvAcceptLang=<overflow buffer>; OVABverbose=POST
snort
alert http $EXTERNAL_NET any -> $HTTP_SERVERS any (msg:"ET WEB_SERVER Possible HP OpenView Network Node Manager ovalarm.exe CGI Buffer Overflow Attempt"; flow:established,to_server; http.method; content:"GET"; nocase; http.uri; content:"/OvCgi/ovalarm.exe"; nocase; fast_pattern; content:"OVABverbose="; nocase; distance:0; pcre:"/^(1|on|true)/Ri"; http.accept_lang; isdataat:100,relative; reference:cve,2009-4179; classtype:web-application-attack; sid:2010704; rev:10; metadata:created_at 2010_07_30, cve CVE_2009_4179, confidence Low, signature_severity Major, updated_at 2020_11_07;)
bytes
eb 03 59 eb 05 e8 f8 ff ff ff 4f 49 49 49 49 49 49 51 5a 56 54 58 36 33 30 56 58 34 41 30 42 36
  • Trigger condition: HTTP GET to /OvCgi/ovalarm.exe with OVABverbose set to 'on', 'true', or '1' AND an Accept-Language header longer than 100 bytes. Both conditions must be present simultaneously.
  • The Snort/Suricata rule uses isdataat:100,relative on the http.accept_lang buffer to detect Accept-Language headers exceeding 100 bytes, which is the overflow threshold.
  • The exploit format string prefix '@@ isWide: comparing '' may appear in logs or memory dumps as a marker of exploitation attempt.
  • Alternative exploit vector uses the OvAcceptLang cookie (instead of Accept-Language header) to deliver the overflow buffer, combined with OVABverbose=POST in the cookie.
  • The exploit was tested successfully with a reverse_ord_tcp payload; monitor for unexpected outbound connections from the ovalarm.exe/IIS process, particularly to port 4444.
  • Return address 0x5a212a4a (jmp esp in ov.dll) and 0x71c02b67 (push esp/ret in ws2_32.dll) are used as EIP overwrite targets; presence of these values in network traffic is a strong indicator of exploitation.
  • ·The Metasploit module payload space is limited to 650 bytes, bad characters include all bytes 0x00–0x1f, and the encoder requires AlphanumMixed with BufferRegister=ESP. Payloads outside these constraints will not work with the standard module.
  • ·The Emerging Threats Snort rule (sid:2010704) is rated confidence Low, meaning it may produce false positives and should be tuned before use in blocking mode.
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