#VU22931 Out-of-bounds read in libarchive - CVE-2019-19221

Vulnerability identifier: #VU22931

Vulnerability risk: Medium

CVSSv4.0: 1 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:L/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Green]

CVE-ID: CVE-2019-19221

CWE-ID: CWE-125

Exploitation vector: Network

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
libarchive
Client/Desktop applications / Software for archiving

Vendor: libarchive

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to gain access to potentially sensitive information.

The vulnerability exists due to a boundary condition in "archive_wstring_append_from_mbs" in "archive_string.c" because of an incorrect "mbrtowc" or "mbtowc" call. A remote attacker can create a specially crafted archive file, trick the victim into opening it, trigger out-of-bounds read error and read contents of memory on the system.

Mitigation
Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

libarchive: 3.0.0 - 3.4.0

---

External links
https://github.com/libarchive/libarchive/commit/22b1db9d46654afc6f0c28f90af8cdc84a199f41
https://github.com/libarchive/libarchive/issues/1276

---

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.