#VU31849 Off-by-one in libexif - CVE-2012-2840

Vulnerability identifier: #VU31849

Vulnerability risk: High

CVSSv4.0: 6.1 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Amber]

CVE-ID: CVE-2012-2840

CWE-ID: CWE-193

Exploitation vector: Network

Exploit availability: No

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

Vendor: libexif.sourceforge.net

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on the target system.

The vulnerability exists due to an off-by-one error in the exif_convert_utf16_to_utf8 function in exif-entry.c in the EXIF Tag Parsing Library. A remote attacker can trigger an off-by-one error via crafted EXIF tags in an image and execute arbitrary code on the target system.

Successful exploitation of this vulnerability may result in complete compromise of vulnerable system.

Mitigation
Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

libexif: 0.6.9 - 0.6.20

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External links
https://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2012-07/msg00015.html
https://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2012-1255.html
https://secunia.com/advisories/49988
https://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/message.php?msg_id=29534027
https://www.debian.org/security/2012/dsa-2559
https://www.securityfocus.com/bid/54437
https://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-1513-1

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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.