CVE-2008-1419 in libvorbis
Summary
by MITRE
Xiph.org libvorbis 1.2.0 and earlier does not properly handle a zero value for codebook.dim, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash or infinite loop) or trigger an integer overflow.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/10/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2008-1419 affects the libvorbis library version 1.2.0 and earlier, which is a widely used open-source audio codec implementation for the vorbis audio format. This library serves as a critical component in numerous multimedia applications, streaming platforms, and operating systems that handle vorbis-encoded audio content. The flaw resides in the library's codebook handling mechanism where it fails to properly validate the codebook.dim parameter, a critical dimension field used in the vorbis compression algorithm. When a maliciously crafted vorbis file contains a zero value for codebook.dim, the library's parsing routine becomes susceptible to exploitable behavior that can lead to system instability.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through improper input validation within the vorbis codebook parsing logic. The codebook.dim field represents the dimensionality of the codebook vectors used in the audio compression process, and when this value is set to zero, it creates a condition where subsequent mathematical operations and memory allocations become invalid or undefined. This flaw can manifest in two primary ways: either causing an infinite loop during codebook processing where the library gets trapped in a computational cycle due to zero-dimensional vector operations, or triggering an integer overflow condition when the library attempts to perform arithmetic operations with the zero dimension value. Both scenarios result in the library's inability to process the audio file correctly, leading to application crashes or denial of service conditions that can be remotely triggered through malicious file delivery.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service, as it represents a critical security weakness in multimedia processing libraries that are integral to many networked applications and services. Attackers can exploit this vulnerability by crafting specially formatted vorbis audio files that contain zero values in the codebook.dim field, then distributing these files through various attack vectors such as email attachments, web downloads, or streaming services. The vulnerability affects any system that utilizes libvorbis for processing vorbis audio content, including web browsers, media players, streaming servers, and multimedia applications. The integer overflow condition particularly poses a risk for systems that do not properly handle integer arithmetic boundaries, potentially leading to more severe consequences including arbitrary code execution in some contexts, though the primary impact remains denial of service and system instability.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2008-1419 should prioritize immediate library updates to version 1.2.1 or later, where the vulnerability has been addressed through proper input validation and boundary checking. System administrators should implement strict file validation procedures for all vorbis audio content received through untrusted sources, including implementing content filtering mechanisms that scan for malformed codebook structures before processing. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-129, which addresses improper validation of array indices and other input validation issues, and may map to ATT&CK technique T1203, which covers obfuscated files and information. Organizations should also consider implementing network segmentation and application whitelisting to limit the potential impact of exploitation, while monitoring for unusual processing patterns or crashes in multimedia applications. Additionally, regular security audits of third-party libraries and components should be conducted to identify and remediate similar vulnerabilities before they can be exploited in real-world scenarios, as this vulnerability demonstrates the importance of robust input validation in multimedia codecs that handle complex binary formats.