iDefense Security Advisory 05.27.08
http://labs.idefense.com/intelligence/vulnerabilities/ 
May 27, 2008

I. BACKGROUND

AlphaStor is a suite of applications used for disk management. For more
information, please see the vendor's website found at the following
link.

http://www.emc.com/products/detail/software/alphastor.htm 

II. DESCRIPTION

Remote exploitation of an arbitrary command execution vulnerability in
EMC Corp.'s AlphaStor could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code
with SYSTEM privileges.

AlphaStor consists of multiple applications, one of which is the Library
Manager. The Library Manager is used to manage the replacement of disk
drives in distributed locations. The Manager consists of a single
process, the "robotd" process, that listens on TCP port 3500 for
incoming connections.

The Library Manager is prone to an arbitrary command execution
vulnerability. When sent a specific request, "robotd" will use a string
from the packet as a command to execute on the system via the
CreateProcess() function. This allows an attacker to run arbitrary
programs on the host with SYSTEM privileges.

III. ANALYSIS

Exploitation of this vulnerability results in the execution of arbitrary
code with the privileges of the affected service, usually SYSTEM. The
vulnerability occurs before any authentication, so it can be exploited
by anonymous attackers with the ability to create a TCP connection to
port 3500 on the server.

Since the vulnerability allows an attacker to run arbitrary programs
with arbitrary arguments, little skill is required for exploitation.

IV. DETECTION

iDefense has confirmed the existence of this vulnerability in AlphaStor
version 3.1 SP1 for Windows. Previous versions, as well as versions for
other platforms, may also be affected.

V. WORKAROUND

iDefense is currently unaware of any workarounds for this issue.

VI. VENDOR RESPONSE

"EMC has issued updates to correct this issue. More details can be found
in knowledgebase article emc186391 available from powerlink.emc.com. EMC
customers can further contact EMC Software Technical Support at
1-877-534-2867."

VII. CVE INFORMATION

The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) project has assigned the
name CVE-2008-2157 to this issue. This is a candidate for inclusion in
the CVE list (http://cve.mitre.org/), which standardizes names for 
security problems.

VIII. DISCLOSURE TIMELINE

04/16/2008  Initial vendor response
04/16/2008  Initial vendor notification
05/27/2008  Coordinated public disclosure

IX. CREDIT

This vulnerability was reported to iDefense by Stephen Fewer of Harmony
Security (www.harmonysecurity.com). 

Get paid for vulnerability research
http://labs.idefense.com/methodology/vulnerability/vcp.php 

Free tools, research and upcoming events
http://labs.idefense.com/ 

X. LEGAL NOTICES

Copyright =A9 2008 iDefense, Inc.

Permission is granted for the redistribution of this alert
electronically. It may not be edited in any way without the express
written consent of iDefense. If you wish to reprint the whole or any
part of this alert in any other medium other than electronically,
please e-mail customerservice@idefense.com for permission. 

Disclaimer: The information in the advisory is believed to be accurate
at the time of publishing based on currently available information. Use
of the information constitutes acceptance for use in an AS IS condition.
 There are no warranties with regard to this information. Neither the
author nor the publisher accepts any liability for any direct,
indirect, or consequential loss or damage arising from use of, or
reliance on, this information.