#VU45490 NULL pointer dereference in libpurple and Pidgin - CVE-2010-4528

Cybersecurity Help s.r.o.

Published: 2011-01-07 | Updated: 2020-08-11

Vulnerability identifier: #VU45490

Vulnerability risk: Low

CVSSv4.0: 1.2 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Clear]

CVE-ID: CVE-2010-4528

CWE-ID: CWE-476

Exploitation vector: Network

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
libpurple
Pidgin
Client/Desktop applications / Messaging software

Vendor: pidgin.im

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 a short p2pv2 packet in a DirectConnect (aka direct connection) session.

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

Vulnerable software versions

libpurple: 2.7.6 - 2.7.8

Pidgin: 2.0.0 - 2.7.8

External links
https://developer.pidgin.im/viewmtn/revision/diff/e76f4ad4ef2f10588195a0eedc7a08f82062f79c/with/aaa07bde3c51d3684391ae6ed86b6dbaeab5d031/libpurple/protocols/msn/directconn.c
https://developer.pidgin.im/viewmtn/revision/info/aaa07bde3c51d3684391ae6ed86b6dbaeab5d031
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2011-January/052862.html
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2011-January/052905.html
https://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2011-01/msg00003.html
https://pidgin.im/pipermail/support/2010-December/009251.html
https://secunia.com/advisories/42732
https://secunia.com/advisories/42824
https://secunia.com/advisories/42877
https://www.mandriva.com/security/advisories?name=MDVSA-2010:259
https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2010/12/27/1
https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2010/12/31/5
https://www.pidgin.im/news/security/?id=49
https://www.securityfocus.com/bid/45581
https://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2011/0028
https://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2011/0054
https://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2011/0076
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=665421
https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A18461

Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote authenticated privileged user via the Internet.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.