#VU6665 Denial of service in Zlib - CVE-2016-9842

Vulnerability identifier: #VU6665

Vulnerability risk: Low

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

CVE-ID: CVE-2016-9842

CWE-ID: CWE-20

Exploitation vector: Network

Exploit availability: No

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

Vendor: GNU

Description
The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to cause DoS condition on the target system.

The weakness exists in zlib due to an undefined left shift of negative number. A remote attacker can send a specially crafted document, trick the victim into opening it, and cause the application to crash.

Successful exploitation of the vulnerability results in denial of service.

Mitigation
Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Zlib: 1.2.0 - 1.2.8

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External links
https://github.com/madler/zlib/commit/e54e1299404101a5a9d0cf5e45512b543967f958
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1402348

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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.