#VU56735 NULL pointer dereference in nginx - CVE-2016-0742

Vulnerability identifier: #VU56735

Vulnerability risk: Medium

CVSSv4.0: 6.6 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Green]

CVE-ID: CVE-2016-0742

CWE-ID: CWE-476

Exploitation vector: Network

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
nginx
Server applications / Web servers

Vendor: NGINX

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 within resolver in nginx when processing UDP DNS packets. A remote attacker can send a specially crafted UDP DNS response to the application and perform a denial of service (DoS) attack.

Mitigation
Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

nginx: 0.6.18 - 0.6.1516, 0.7.0 - 0.7.69, 0.8.0 - 0.8.55, 0.9.0 - 0.9.7, 1.0.0 - 1.0.15, 1.1.0 - 1.1.19, 1.2.0 - 1.2.9, 1.3.0 - 1.3.16, 1.4.0 - 1.4.7, 1.5.0 - 1.5.13, 1.6.0 - 1.6.3, 1.7.0 - 1.7.12, 1.8.0, 1.9.0 - 1.9.9

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External links
https://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-updates/2016-02/msg00042.html
https://mailman.nginx.org/pipermail/nginx/2016-January/049700.html
https://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3473
https://www.securitytracker.com/id/1034869
https://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-2892-1
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2016:1425
https://bto.bluecoat.com/security-advisory/sa115
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1302587
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201606-06

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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.