#VU13949 Null pointer dereference in Libxml2 - CVE-2018-14404

Vulnerability identifier: #VU13949

Vulnerability risk: Low

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

CVE-ID: CVE-2018-14404

CWE-ID: CWE-476

Exploitation vector: Network

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
Libxml2
Universal components / Libraries / Libraries used by multiple products

Vendor: Gnome Development Team

Description

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

The vulnerability exists in the xmlXPathCompOpEval() function, as defined in the path.c source code file due to improper parsing of invalid XPath expressions in the XPATH_OP_AND and XPATH_OP_OR cases. A remote attacker can send a specially crafted request that submits malicious input to an application that is using the affected library, trigger a NULL pointer dereference and cause the application to crash.

Mitigation
Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Libxml2: 2.2.7 - 2.9.8

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External links
https:httpCybersecurity Help is currently unaware of any solutions addressing the vulnerability.

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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.