#VU33116 Memory leak in expat - CVE-2012-1148


| Updated: 2020-08-03

Vulnerability identifier: #VU33116

Vulnerability risk: Medium

CVSSv4.0: 2.7 [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:U/U:Green]

CVE-ID: CVE-2012-1148

CWE-ID: CWE-401

Exploitation vector: Network

Exploit availability: No

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

Vendor: libexpat.org

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to perform a denial of service (DoS) attack.

The vulnerability exists due to memory leak within the poolGrow function in expat/lib/xmlparse.c in expat before 2.1.0 allows context-dependent attackers to cause a denial of service (memory consumption) via a large number of crafted XML files that cause improperly-handled reallocation failures when expanding entities. A remote attacker can perform a denial of service attack.

Mitigation
Update to version 2.1.0.

Vulnerable software versions

expat: 2.0.0 - 2.0.1

External links
https://expat.cvs.sourceforge.net/viewvc/expat/expat/lib/xmlparse.c?r1=1.166&r2=1.167
https://lists.apple.com/archives/security-announce/2015/Dec/msg00005.html
https://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2012-0731.html
https://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2016-0062.html
https://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2016-2957.html
https://secunia.com/advisories/49504
https://secunia.com/advisories/51024
https://secunia.com/advisories/51040
https://sourceforge.net/projects/expat/files/expat/2.1.0/
https://sourceforge.net/tracker/?func=detail&atid=110127&aid=2958794&group_id=10127
https://www.debian.org/security/2012/dsa-2525
https://www.mandriva.com/security/advisories?name=MDVSA-2012:041
https://www.securityfocus.com/bid/52379
https://www.securitytracker.com/id/1034344
https://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-1527-1
https://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-1613-1
https://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-1613-2
https://support.apple.com/HT205637

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.


Latest bulletins with this vulnerability


Ubuntu update for libxmltok
Gentoo update for Expat
Memory leak in expat (Alpine package)
Memory leak in libexpat expat
Amazon Linux AMI update for expat