CVE-2011-1145
📋 TL;DR
A buffer overflow vulnerability in unixODBC's SQLDriverConnect() function allows attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service by providing an overly long SAVEFILE parameter in connection strings. This affects applications using unixODBC for database connectivity on Unix-like systems. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous when applications accept untrusted connection strings.
💻 Affected Systems
- unixODBC
📦 What is this software?
Opensuse by Opensuse
Opensuse by Opensuse
Unixodbc by Unixodbc
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Remote code execution leading to complete system compromise, data theft, or persistent backdoor installation.
Likely Case
Application crash causing denial of service, potentially disrupting database-dependent services.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if proper input validation and least privilege principles are implemented.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires ability to control connection string parameters, typically through application input. Buffer overflow techniques are well understood.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 2.2.14p2 and later
Vendor Advisory: https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/cve-2011-1145
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Update unixODBC to version 2.2.14p2 or later using your distribution's package manager. 2. Restart any applications using unixODBC. 3. For RedHat/CentOS: yum update unixODBC. 4. For Debian/Ubuntu: apt-get update && apt-get install unixODBC.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Input Validation
allImplement strict validation of connection string parameters, especially SAVEFILE values, in applications using SQLDriverConnect().
Application Sandboxing
linuxRun applications using unixODBC with reduced privileges and in isolated environments.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement network segmentation to isolate vulnerable systems from untrusted networks.
- Deploy application-level firewalls to monitor and restrict ODBC connection attempts.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check unixODBC version: odbc_config --version. If version is earlier than 2.2.14p2, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
odbc_config --versionVerify Fix Applied:
After update, verify version is 2.2.14p2 or later using odbc_config --version.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Application crashes with segmentation faults
- Unusual ODBC connection attempts with long parameters
Network Indicators:
- Multiple failed ODBC connection attempts
- Unusual database connection patterns
SIEM Query:
source="application.log" AND ("segmentation fault" OR "buffer overflow") AND process="*odbc*"🔗 References
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/cve-2011-1145
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2011-1145
- https://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2011-1145
- https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2011-1145
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/cve-2011-1145
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2011-1145
- https://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2011-1145
- https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2011-1145
