#VU13374 Null pointer dereference in ncurses - CVE-2018-10754

Vulnerability identifier: #VU13374

Vulnerability risk: Low

CVSSv4.0: 5.5 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P/U:Clear]

CVE-ID: CVE-2018-10754

CWE-ID: CWE-476

Exploitation vector: Network

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
ncurses
Universal components / Libraries / Libraries used by multiple products

Vendor: Free Software Foundation

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to cause DoS condition on the target system.

The vulnerability exists due to improper parsing of terminfo files by the _nc_write_entry function, as defined in the tinfo/parse_entry.c source code file. A remote attacker can trick the victim into open a terminfo file that submits malicious input, trigger a NULL pointer dereference condition and cause the application to crash.

Mitigation
Update to version 6.1.20180414.

Vulnerable software versions

ncurses: 4.0 - 6.1.20180407

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External links
https://invisible-island.net/ncurses/NEWS.html#t20180414

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Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote non-authenticated attacker via the Internet.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability. However, proof of concept for this vulnerability is available.