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

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Date: Thu, 14 Jul 2011 09:29:33 +0200
From: Jan Lieskovsky <jlieskov@...hat.com>
To: Erik de Castro Lopo <erikd@...a-nerd.com>
CC: oss-security@...ts.openwall.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


Hello Erik,

On 07/14/2011 08:49 AM, Erik de Castro Lopo wrote:
> 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.

Thank you for the clarification regarding this. To be honest didn't have
chance to prepare reproducer for this issue yet, thus the initial 
description was based only on information from those references and 
upstream Bzr Changelog message.

Thanks for that correction, it's appreciated.

Regards, Jan.
--
Jan iankko Lieskovsky / Red Hat Security Response Team

>
> 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

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