CVE-2005-1195 in xine-lib
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple heap-based buffer overflows in the code used to handle (1) MMS over TCP (MMST) streams or (2) RealMedia RTSP streams in xine-lib before 1.0, and other products that use xine-lib such as MPlayer 1.0pre6 and earlier, allow remote malicious servers to execute arbitrary code.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/31/2019
The vulnerability described in CVE-2005-1195 represents a critical security flaw affecting multimedia processing libraries that handle streaming media protocols. This issue specifically targets xine-lib versions prior to 1.0, which serves as a foundational multimedia framework used by various media players including MPlayer 1.0pre6 and earlier versions. The vulnerability manifests in two distinct attack vectors involving the handling of specific streaming protocols that are commonly used in internet multimedia applications.
The technical flaw stems from heap-based buffer overflows occurring during the processing of MMS over TCP (MMST) streams and RealMedia RTSP streams. These buffer overflows occur when the xine-lib code fails to properly validate or limit the size of data received from remote servers during the parsing of multimedia stream headers and metadata. The heap overflow condition allows an attacker to write data beyond the allocated memory boundaries, potentially corrupting adjacent memory structures and overwriting critical program variables or return addresses.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability creates a severe remote code execution risk that can be exploited by malicious servers hosting compromised multimedia content. Attackers can craft specially designed MMST or RTSP streams that trigger the buffer overflow conditions when processed by vulnerable applications. The exploitation process typically involves sending maliciously formatted stream data that causes the application to overwrite memory in a controlled manner, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the affected process. This makes the vulnerability particularly dangerous in environments where users might encounter untrusted multimedia streams from the internet.
The impact of this vulnerability extends beyond individual applications to affect entire ecosystems of software that rely on xine-lib for multimedia processing. Given that xine-lib was widely adopted across various Linux and Unix-based multimedia applications, the potential attack surface was substantial. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-121 Heap-based Buffer Overflow, which specifically addresses buffer overflows occurring in heap memory regions, and represents a classic example of how multimedia processing libraries can become attack vectors for remote code execution. Security professionals should note the relationship to ATT&CK technique T1203, which involves the exploitation of memory corruption vulnerabilities for code execution purposes. Organizations should implement immediate mitigation strategies including upgrading to xine-lib version 1.0 or later, disabling support for vulnerable streaming protocols, and employing network-based protections such as firewalls and intrusion detection systems to prevent exploitation attempts.
The remediation approach for this vulnerability requires comprehensive software updates across all affected applications that utilize xine-lib. System administrators should prioritize upgrading to patched versions of xine-lib and dependent applications like MPlayer, while also considering the implementation of network security controls that can detect and block suspicious multimedia stream patterns. Additionally, organizations should conduct thorough vulnerability assessments to identify all systems potentially affected by this issue and implement monitoring solutions to detect exploitation attempts targeting these specific buffer overflow conditions.