CVE-2002-1045 in Popcorn
Summary
by MITRE
Ultrafunk Popcorn 1.20 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) via a malformed Date field that is converted into a year greater than 2037.
Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/29/2024
The vulnerability described in CVE-2002-1045 represents a classic integer overflow issue affecting the Ultrafunk Popcorn 1.20 media player software. This flaw demonstrates how seemingly minor date parsing errors can lead to critical system instability. The vulnerability specifically targets the software's handling of date fields within media file metadata, where malformed date values trigger unexpected behavior in the application's internal date conversion mechanisms. The issue arises from the software's inability to properly validate or sanitize date inputs, particularly when processing year values that exceed the maximum representable value in the system's date handling functions.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in the software's date parsing implementation which likely uses 32-bit integer representations for date calculations. When a malformed date field contains a year value greater than 2037, the conversion process triggers an integer overflow condition that causes the application to crash or become unresponsive. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-190 category of integer overflow and under the broader CWE-682 category of incorrect arithmetic, which are commonly exploited in denial of service attacks. The vulnerability operates at the application layer and requires remote exploitation through the delivery of specially crafted media files containing malformed date metadata.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption as it can be leveraged by attackers to perform systematic denial of service attacks against systems running the affected software. Attackers can construct media files with manipulated date fields that will cause the application to crash whenever the file is opened or processed, potentially affecting users in environments where the software is automatically launched or where media files are shared through networks. This vulnerability particularly affects systems where the affected software is used for media playback or processing, including multimedia servers, home entertainment systems, and content management platforms that rely on the Popcorn player for file handling.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on immediate software updates and patches provided by the vendor, as well as implementing input validation measures at network boundaries to filter out potentially malicious media files. Organizations should also consider implementing network segmentation to limit exposure and deploy intrusion detection systems that can identify suspicious media file patterns. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under the T1499.004 sub-technique of Network Denial of Service, and the broader T1498 technique of Network Denial of Service which encompasses various methods of disrupting network services. Additionally, implementing proper date field validation and sanitization within the application's input processing pipeline would prevent similar issues from occurring in future versions. Organizations should also conduct regular vulnerability assessments of their media processing systems and ensure that all third-party media players and codecs are kept up to date with the latest security patches.