CVE-2011-5043 in Free Mp3 Player
Summary
by MITRE
TomatoSoft Free Mp3 Player 1.0 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) via a long string in an MP3 file, possibly a buffer overflow.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/23/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2011-5043 affects TomatoSoft Free Mp3 Player version 1.0 and represents a critical security flaw that enables remote attackers to execute denial of service attacks through carefully crafted malicious MP3 files. This vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation mechanisms within the media player's parsing logic, specifically when processing metadata or audio data structures within MP3 files. The flaw manifests when the application encounters a malformed MP3 file containing an excessively long string in its metadata fields, causing the player to crash and terminate unexpectedly. This type of vulnerability falls under the category of buffer overflow conditions as defined by CWE-121, where insufficient bounds checking allows an attacker to overwrite adjacent memory locations with malicious data. The attack vector is particularly concerning as it requires no special privileges or authentication, making it accessible to any remote user capable of delivering a malicious file to the target system.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the player's failure to properly validate string lengths during MP3 file parsing operations, particularly within ID3 tag processing or other metadata handling components. When the application attempts to read and process a string that exceeds predefined buffer boundaries, the memory corruption results in unpredictable application behavior including immediate termination or system instability. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple application crash, as it represents a foundational security weakness that could potentially be exploited to execute arbitrary code on vulnerable systems. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to T1499.004 - Endpoint Denial of Service, which involves techniques that disable or degrade system resources through the manipulation of application components. The flaw demonstrates poor defensive programming practices where input validation is insufficient to prevent buffer overflows, creating an attack surface that can be leveraged by adversaries to disrupt normal system operations.
The operational impact of CVE-2011-5043 extends significantly beyond immediate denial of service conditions, as it represents a potential gateway for more sophisticated attacks within networked environments. Organizations relying on this media player for audio content playback face substantial risk of service disruption, particularly in enterprise settings where media players might be used in automated systems or kiosks. The vulnerability's remote exploitability means that attackers can potentially compromise systems without physical access or direct interaction, making it particularly dangerous in public or shared computing environments. Security professionals should note that this vulnerability aligns with the broader category of software vulnerabilities affecting multimedia applications, where parsing of external media files often presents complex attack surfaces due to the variety of formats and encoding standards involved. The flaw's potential for escalation makes it particularly concerning from a threat modeling perspective, as it could serve as a precursor to more advanced exploitation techniques. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including application whitelisting, network segmentation, and prompt patch deployment to prevent exploitation attempts. The vulnerability underscores the critical importance of proper input validation and memory management practices in multimedia processing applications, as these components often handle untrusted data from external sources without adequate security controls.