CVE-2019-25552 Overview
CVE-2019-25552 is a denial of service vulnerability in CEWE PHOTO SHOW version 6.4.3 that allows attackers to crash the application by submitting an excessively long buffer to the password field. This buffer overflow condition occurs when attackers paste a large string of repeated characters into the password input during the upload process, triggering an application crash.
Critical Impact
Attackers can remotely cause application crashes by exploiting improper input validation in the password field, leading to denial of service conditions that disrupt normal business operations.
Affected Products
- CEWE PHOTO SHOW 6.4.3
Discovery Timeline
- 2026-03-21 - CVE CVE-2019-25552 published to NVD
- 2026-03-23 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2019-25552
Vulnerability Analysis
This denial of service vulnerability stems from improper handling of user-supplied input in the password field of CEWE PHOTO SHOW 6.4.3. The application fails to properly validate the length of data submitted to the password input during the upload process. When an attacker submits an excessively long string of characters to this field, the application cannot handle the oversized input, resulting in an application crash.
The vulnerability is classified under CWE-836, which relates to the use of password hash instead of password for authentication-related issues. However, the primary attack mechanism involves buffer handling deficiencies that allow denial of service through resource exhaustion or memory corruption when processing malformed input.
Root Cause
The root cause of this vulnerability lies in insufficient input validation and boundary checking within the password field handling code. The application does not enforce appropriate length restrictions on the password input buffer, allowing attackers to submit arbitrarily large strings that exceed the expected buffer size. This lack of proper bounds checking leads to uncontrolled resource consumption or memory access violations that crash the application.
Attack Vector
The attack can be executed remotely over a network connection without requiring authentication. An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by:
- Navigating to the upload functionality within CEWE PHOTO SHOW 6.4.3
- Locating the password input field
- Pasting a large string of repeated characters (thousands of characters) into the password field
- Submitting the form to trigger the buffer overflow condition
The attack requires no user interaction beyond the attacker's own actions and can be performed by any network-accessible threat actor. A proof of concept demonstrating this attack is documented in Exploit-DB #46861.
Detection Methods for CVE-2019-25552
Indicators of Compromise
- Application crash logs showing abnormal termination during authentication or upload processes
- Windows Event Log entries indicating application faults in the CEWE PHOTO SHOW process
- Unusually large HTTP POST requests targeting the upload functionality
- Network traffic containing abnormally long password parameter values
Detection Strategies
- Monitor application logs for unexpected crash events or access violations
- Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block requests with excessively long parameter values
- Deploy intrusion detection systems (IDS) with signatures for buffer overflow attack patterns
- Configure endpoint detection solutions to alert on repeated application crashes
Monitoring Recommendations
- Enable detailed crash logging for CEWE PHOTO SHOW installations
- Monitor network traffic for HTTP requests with unusually large POST body sizes
- Set up alerts for repeated application restarts that may indicate ongoing exploitation attempts
- Review authentication logs for patterns of failed login attempts with malformed data
How to Mitigate CVE-2019-25552
Immediate Actions Required
- Upgrade CEWE PHOTO SHOW to a patched version if available from the vendor
- Implement input validation at the network perimeter to reject oversized password field submissions
- Consider temporarily disabling the affected upload functionality if it is not business-critical
- Restrict network access to the application to trusted users only
Patch Information
Consult the CEWE Photo World Homepage for the latest software updates and security patches. Review the VulnCheck Denial of Service Advisory for additional remediation guidance.
Workarounds
- Deploy a web application firewall (WAF) with rules limiting password field input length to reasonable bounds (e.g., 128-256 characters maximum)
- Implement network segmentation to limit exposure of vulnerable CEWE PHOTO SHOW instances
- Use rate limiting to throttle repeated requests that may indicate exploitation attempts
- Consider running the application in an isolated environment with monitoring to detect and respond to crashes quickly
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
