The product implements an IOCTL with functionality that should be restricted, but it does not properly enforce access control for the IOCTL.
When an IOCTL contains privileged functionality and is exposed unnecessarily, attackers may be able to access this functionality by invoking the IOCTL. Even if the functionality is benign, if the programmer has assumed that the IOCTL would only be accessed by a trusted process, there may be little or no validation of the incoming data, exposing weaknesses that would never be reachable if the attacker cannot call the IOCTL directly.
The implementations of IOCTLs will differ between operating system types and versions, so the methods of attack and prevention may vary widely.
In Windows environments, use proper access control for the associated device or device namespace. See References.
Attackers can invoke any functionality that the IOCTL offers. Depending on the functionality, the consequences may include code execution, denial-of-service, and theft of data.
CVE-2009-2208Operating system does not enforce permissions on an IOCTL that can be used to modify network settings.
CVE-2008-3831Device driver does not restrict ioctl calls to its direct rendering manager.
CVE-2008-3525ioctl does not check for a required capability before processing certain requests.
CVE-2008-0322Chain: insecure device permissions allows access to an IOCTL, allowing arbitrary memory to be overwritten.
CVE-2007-4277Chain: anti-virus product uses weak permissions for a device, leading to resultant buffer overflow in an exposed IOCTL.