CVE-2010-2642 in Evince
Summary
by MITRE
Heap-based buffer overflow in the AFM font parser in the dvi-backend component in Evince 2.32 and earlier, teTeX 3.0, t1lib 5.1.2, and possibly other products allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code via a crafted font in conjunction with a DVI file that is processed by the thumbnailer.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/11/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2010-2642 represents a critical heap-based buffer overflow affecting multiple font processing components within the Linux desktop environment. This flaw exists within the AFM font parser implementation found in the dvi-backend component of Evince version 2.32 and earlier, as well as in teTeX 3.0 and t1lib 5.1.2, with potential impacts extending to other affected products. The vulnerability manifests when these applications process DVI files containing crafted fonts through their thumbnailer functionality, creating a dangerous attack surface that could be exploited by remote adversaries. The technical nature of this vulnerability places it squarely within the CWE-121 heap-based buffer overflow category, which is classified as a fundamental memory safety issue that occurs when more data is written to a heap buffer than it can accommodate, leading to memory corruption.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service scenarios to potentially enable arbitrary code execution on affected systems. When a malicious DVI file containing specially crafted font data is processed by the vulnerable thumbnailer, the buffer overflow can overwrite adjacent memory locations, potentially allowing attackers to manipulate program execution flow. This type of vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1203, which involves the exploitation of memory corruption vulnerabilities to gain code execution privileges. The attack vector requires remote delivery of malicious content through DVI files, making it particularly dangerous in environments where users might encounter untrusted documents. The vulnerability affects the thumbnail generation process, meaning that simply opening or previewing a malicious document could trigger the exploit without requiring user interaction beyond normal document opening.
System compromise through this vulnerability could result in complete application crashes or more severe consequences including full system compromise depending on the execution environment and privilege levels. The heap-based nature of the overflow makes exploitation more challenging than stack-based equivalents but still highly dangerous, as it can be leveraged for privilege escalation in certain scenarios. Organizations using affected versions of Evince, teTeX, or t1lib face significant risk from this vulnerability, particularly in environments where users might process untrusted documents. The widespread use of these components in desktop environments and document processing workflows amplifies the potential impact, as attackers could craft malicious DVI files for distribution through various channels including email attachments, web downloads, or shared network resources. Remediation requires immediate patching of affected software versions, with administrators implementing additional security controls such as document sanitization and restricted file type handling to mitigate potential exploitation attempts.