CVE-2007-1922 in WinAmp
Summary
by MITRE
The Impulse Tracker (IT) and ScreamTracker 3 (S3M) modules in IN_MOD.DLL in AOL Nullsoft Winamp 5.33 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted (1) .IT or (2) .S3M file containing integer values that are used as memory offsets, which triggers memory corruption.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/14/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2007-1922 represents a critical memory corruption flaw within the multimedia playback software Winamp version 5.33, specifically affecting its handling of Impulse Tracker and ScreamTracker 3 module formats. This vulnerability resides in the IN_MOD.DLL component which processes these audio file formats, creating an attack surface that remote adversaries can exploit to execute arbitrary code on vulnerable systems. The flaw manifests when the software parses malformed .IT and .S3M files that contain crafted integer values used as memory offsets, leading to unpredictable memory corruption behaviors that can be leveraged for malicious purposes.
The technical mechanism behind this vulnerability involves improper input validation and memory management within the module parsing routines of the IN_MOD.DLL library. When Winamp encounters a specially crafted .IT or .S3M file, the integer values embedded within the file headers or data sections are directly used as memory offsets without adequate bounds checking or validation. This primitive handling of user-supplied data creates a classic buffer overflow condition where maliciously constructed integer values can cause the application to access memory locations outside of intended boundaries, potentially overwriting critical program structures, return addresses, or other memory regions essential for proper application execution. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-125: Out-of-bounds Read and CWE-787: Out-of-bounds Write, both of which are fundamental memory safety issues that enable arbitrary code execution.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple remote code execution, as it provides attackers with a pathway to compromise systems running vulnerable versions of Winamp. Since Winamp was widely distributed and used across various platforms, this vulnerability created a significant attack vector that could be exploited through email attachments, web downloads, or file sharing networks. The remote nature of the attack means that users could be compromised simply by opening or previewing maliciously crafted audio modules, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where users might encounter such files through various legitimate or malicious channels. This type of vulnerability is categorized under the ATT&CK framework as T1059.007: Command and Scripting Interpreter: Windows Command Shell, when exploited, as attackers can leverage the executed code to establish persistent access or escalate privileges.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2007-1922 primarily involve immediate software updates and patches from the vendor, as well as defensive measures to prevent execution of untrusted media files. System administrators should ensure that Winamp installations are updated to versions that contain proper input validation and memory management fixes. Additionally, implementing application whitelisting policies, disabling automatic playback of media files, and employing sandboxing techniques can significantly reduce the risk of exploitation. Network-level protections such as email filtering and web content filtering can help prevent users from accessing maliciously crafted audio files. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper input validation and memory safety practices in multimedia processing libraries, as similar issues have been documented in other media players and multimedia frameworks. Organizations should also consider implementing security awareness training to educate users about the risks of opening untrusted media files and the importance of keeping software updated. This vulnerability serves as a historical example of how legacy multimedia formats and their parsers can contain critical security flaws that persist across multiple versions and platforms, highlighting the need for continuous security assessments of multimedia processing components in software applications.