CVE-2008-5937 in AyeView
Summary
by MITRE
AyeView 2.20 allows user-assisted attackers to cause a denial of service (memory consumption or application crash) via a bitmap (aka .bmp) file with large height and width values.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/06/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2008-5937 affects AyeView 2.20, a bitmap image viewing application that processes .bmp files. This issue represents a classic buffer overflow or memory handling flaw that occurs during the parsing of malformed bitmap files. The vulnerability specifically manifests when the application encounters bitmap files containing excessively large height and width parameters in their headers, creating a scenario where the software fails to properly validate input data before attempting to allocate memory resources. This type of vulnerability falls under the category of improper input validation and memory management errors that are commonly classified under CWE-129, which addresses insufficient validation of length of inputs.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability requires an attacker to craft a malicious bitmap file with deliberately inflated height and width values that exceed the normal processing capabilities of the application. When AyeView attempts to parse such a file, the application's memory allocation routines become overwhelmed as they attempt to reserve space for an image that theoretically would require an enormous amount of memory. This memory exhaustion can lead to either a complete application crash or significant memory consumption that renders the system unstable. The vulnerability demonstrates a fundamental flaw in how the application handles image metadata parsing without adequate bounds checking or resource allocation limits.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability creates a significant risk for users who may unknowingly open maliciously crafted bitmap files, particularly in environments where automated file processing occurs or where users have limited security awareness. The user-assisted nature of this attack means that victims must actively open the malicious file, but this requirement does not mitigate the risk as many users may encounter such files through email attachments, file sharing systems, or web downloads. The denial of service impact can be particularly disruptive in enterprise environments where image viewing applications are frequently used for document review, image processing workflows, or digital asset management systems.
The vulnerability aligns with several ATT&CK techniques including T1203, Exploitation for Client Execution, and T1059, Command and Scripting Interpreter, as attackers can leverage this flaw to disrupt normal operations and potentially create conditions for more sophisticated attacks. The memory consumption aspect of this vulnerability can also be used as a vector for resource exhaustion attacks that may affect system stability and availability. Organizations should consider implementing file validation policies that restrict the types of bitmap files processed by applications, and security teams should prioritize patching affected systems as soon as vendor updates become available. The incident highlights the importance of robust input validation and memory management practices in multimedia applications and underscores the need for regular security assessments of file processing components within software applications.