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Improper Certificate Validation

CVE-2005-3170

Medium
5.1/10

Summary

The LDAP client on Microsoft Windows 2000 before Update Rollup 1 for SP4 accepts certificates using LDAP Secure Sockets Layer (LDAPS) even when the Certificate Authority (CA) is not trusted, which could allow attackers to trick users into believing that they are accessing a trusted site.

  • HIGH
  • NETWORK
  • NONE
  • PARTIAL
  • PARTIAL
  • PARTIAL

CWE-295 - Improper Certificate Validation

The authenticity component of a web system stems from the ability to validate “Digital certificates”, which (i) establish trust between two or more entities sharing data over a network; (ii) ensure data at rest and transit is secure from unauthorized access; and (iii) check the identity of the actors that interact with the system. An application with absent or ineffective certificate validation mechanisms allows malicious users, impersonating trusted hosts, to manipulate the communication path between the client and the host, resulting in unauthorized access to data and to the application’s internal environment, and potentially enabling man-in-the-middle attacks.

References

Advisory Timeline

  • Published