#VU44403 NULL pointer dereference in PHP - CVE-2012-0781

Vulnerability identifier: #VU44403

Vulnerability risk: Medium

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:Green]

CVE-ID: CVE-2012-0781

CWE-ID: CWE-476

Exploitation vector: Network

Exploit availability: Yes

Vulnerable software:
PHP
Universal components / Libraries / Scripting languages

Vendor: PHP Group

Description

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

The vulnerability exists due to a NULL pointer dereference error. A remote attacker can trigger denial of service conditions via crafted input to an application that attempts to perform Tidy::diagnose operations on invalid objects, a different vulnerability than CVE-2011-4153.

Mitigation
Cybersecurity Help is currently unaware of any official solution to address this vulnerability.

Vulnerable software versions

PHP: 5.3.8

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External links
https://archives.neohapsis.com/archives/bugtraq/2012-01/0092.html
https://cxsecurity.com/research/103
https://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2012-03/msg00013.html
https://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2012-03/msg00016.html
https://secunia.com/advisories/48668
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/18370/

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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.