CVE-2002-0168 in Imlib
Summary
by MITRE
Vulnerability in Imlib before 1.9.13 allows attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) and possibly execute arbitrary code by manipulating arguments that are passed to malloc, which results in a heap corruption.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/06/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2002-0168 affects the Imlib library version 1.9.12 and earlier, representing a critical heap corruption issue that can lead to both denial of service and potential arbitrary code execution. This flaw resides in the library's memory management handling, specifically within how it processes arguments passed to the malloc function during image processing operations. The vulnerability manifests when malformed or malicious input data is processed through Imlib's image loading and manipulation functions, creating conditions where heap memory becomes corrupted through improper memory allocation patterns.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and memory boundary checking within Imlib's image parsing routines. When processing certain image formats, particularly those with malformed headers or corrupted data structures, the library fails to properly validate the size parameters passed to memory allocation functions. This leads to heap corruption scenarios where malloc receives invalid size arguments that either result in allocation failures or create memory regions that are subsequently accessed inappropriately. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-122 as "Heap-based Buffer Overflow" and aligns with CWE-787 "Out-of-bounds Write" when considering the memory corruption effects that can occur during heap operations.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service scenarios, as it can potentially enable remote code execution depending on the specific system configuration and attack vector. When exploited, the heap corruption can cause application crashes that manifest as denial of service conditions, but in certain circumstances, attackers may be able to manipulate the corrupted heap memory to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the affected application. Systems running applications that utilize Imlib for image processing, including web servers, desktop applications, and image manipulation tools, become vulnerable to this attack vector. The vulnerability is particularly concerning in server environments where image processing is a common operation, as it can be triggered through web uploads or file processing operations.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2002-0168 primarily involve immediate patching of the Imlib library to version 1.9.13 or later, which contains the necessary memory validation fixes. System administrators should also implement input validation measures at application level to filter or reject malformed image files before they reach the Imlib library. Network-level protections can include implementing file type restrictions and content filtering to prevent malicious image files from being processed. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper memory management practices and input validation as outlined in the OWASP Top Ten security risks, particularly addressing injection flaws and memory corruption vulnerabilities. Organizations should also consider implementing memory protection mechanisms such as stack canaries, address space layout randomization, and heap integrity checking to reduce the exploitability of similar vulnerabilities. This issue aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for "Command and Scripting Interpreter: Unix Shell" when considering potential exploitation methods, though the primary attack surface remains through heap corruption and memory management flaws rather than direct shell injection.