iDefense Security Advisory 12.05.05: Multiple Vendor xpdf DCTStream Progressive Heap Overflow
Multiple Vendor xpdf DCTStream Progressive Heap Overflow
iDefense Security Advisory 12.05.05
www.idefense.com/application/poi/display?id=343&type=vulnerabilities
December 5, 2005
I. BACKGROUND
Xpdf is an open-source viewer for Portable Document Format (PDF) files.
II. DESCRIPTION
Local exploitation of a heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in
xpdf, as included by multiple vendor's software distributions, could
allow attackers to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition,
potentially resulting in arbitrary code execution.
The vulnerability specifically exists due to insufficient input
validation in the DCT stream parsing code. The
DCTStream::readProgressiveSOF function from xpdf/Stream.cc takes the
value of numComps from user-controllable data from within the PDF file.
The numComps value is used in a loop to copy data from the file into a
pre-allocated buffer in the heap as shown below.
GBool DCTStream::readProgressiveSOF() {
...
numComps = str->getChar();
...
for (i = 0; i < numComps; ++i) {
compInfo[i].id = str->getChar();
c = str->getChar();
compInfo[i].hSample = (c >> 4) & 0x0f;
compInfo[i].vSample = c & 0x0f;
compInfo[i].quantTable = str->getChar();
}
...
Overly large values supplied to numComps result in corruption of heap
memory, resulting in a DoS condition, potentially resulting in
arbitrary code execution.
III. ANALYSIS
Exploitation could result in arbitrary code execution with privileges
of the xpdf process. Currently, exploitation resulting in code
execution is theoretical and dependant on the process memory layout. A
typical exploitation attempt would require an attacker to supply a
malicious pdf to the victim. The victim would need to open the corrupt
pdf file in xpdf, and at this point the vulnerability would be
triggered.
IV. DETECTION
iDefense has confirmed the existence of this vulnerability in xpdf
3.01. All earlier versions of xpdf are suspected vulnerable.
The following vendors include susceptible xpdf packages within their
operating system distributions:
. The Debian Project: Linux 3.0 and 3.1
V. WORKAROUND
iDefense is currently unaware of any effective workarounds for this
vulnerability.
VI. VENDOR RESPONSE
A patch for this vulnerability is available at:
ftp://ftp.foolabs.com/pub/xpdf/xpdf-3.01pl1.patch
Updated binaries (version 3.01pl1) are available at:
http://www.foolabs.com/xpdf/download.html
VII. CVE INFORMATION
The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) project has assigned the
name CAN-2005-3191 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
10/13/2005 Initial vendor notification
10/19/2005 Initial vendor response
12/05/2005 Coordinated public disclosure
IX. CREDIT
iDefense credits infamous41md@xxxxxxxxxx with the discovery of this
vulnerability.
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X. LEGAL NOTICES
Copyright C 2005 iDefense, Inc.
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Disclaimer: The information in the advisory is believed to be accurate
at the time of publishing based on currently available information. Use
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There are no warranties with regard to this information. Neither the
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