Tutorial - mountd vulnerabilities

##
Mountd Vulnerabilities

CVE 1999-0002
CVE 1999-0832

### Impact

A vulnerability in `mountd` or `nfsd` could allow a remote attacker to cause a buffer to overflow, and to use the resulting condition to execute arbitrary code with root privileges.

### Background

Network File System (`NFS`) is a service which allows a server to make file systems available to clients. The clients can mount `NFS` file systems and make them available locally. `mountd` is the process on the server which handles requests from clients to mount file systems.

### The Problem

CVE 1999-0002
Some versions of `mountd` on Linux operating systems have a buffer overflow condition which could allow a remote attacker to gain root access. Other operating systems are not affected.

CVE 1999-0832
Some versions of `nfsd` on Linux operating systems could also have a buffer overflow condition whereby a remote attacker could execute arbitrary commands by removing a directory with a very long name. The attacker would require read and write access to an exported filesystem in order to exploit this vulnerability.

### Resolution

If the system is not being used as an `NFS` server, then disable the `mountd` and `nfsd` processes. Otherwise, install a patch to fix the vulnerability. Check the references below for information about obtaining patches for your particular version of Linux.

### Where can I read more about this?

More about the vulnerability in `mountd` can be found in CERT Advisory 1998-12. More about the vulnerability in `nfsd` can be found in the X-Force advisory.