oss-security - Re: CVE Request -- libsndfile -- Integer overflow by processing certain PAF files

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Date: Thu, 14 Jul 2011 16:49:22 +1000
From: Erik de Castro Lopo <erikd@...a-nerd.com>
To: oss-security@...ts.openwall.com
Cc: Jan Lieskovsky <jlieskov@...hat.com>, "Steven M. Christey"
 <coley@...us.mitre.org>, Secunia Research <vuln@...unia.com>
Subject: Re: CVE Request -- libsndfile -- Integer overflow by processing
 certain PAF files

Jan Lieskovsky wrote:

>    an integer overflow, leading to heap-based buffer overflow flaw was
> found in the way libsndfile, library for reading and writing of sound
> files, processed certain PARIS Audio Format (PAF) audio files with
> crafted count of channels in the PAF file header. A remote attacker
> could provided a specially-crafted PAF audio file, which once opened by
> a local, unsuspecting user in an application, linked against libsndfile,
> could lead to that particular application crash (denial of service),

I agree with everything up to here.

> or, potentially arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the
> user running the application.

but this is rubbish. The heap gets overwritten with zeros which would
certainly lead to the application segfaulting. However, there is
no way for arbitrary code to be executed on amy sane OS with proper
memory protection.

Furthermore, Secunia when they contacted me about this said they would
release information about this vulernability on the 18th and then ended
up releasing it on the 12th instead which means I had to rush out the
release I was working on (and would have easily had ready for the
18th). That is not the way to win friends and influence people.

Regards,
Erik
-- 
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Erik de Castro Lopo
http://www.mega-nerd.com/

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