CVE-2012-1429 in Gateway
Summary
by MITRE
The ELF file parser in Bitdefender 7.2, Comodo Antivirus 7424, Emsisoft Anti-Malware 5.1.0.1, eSafe 7.0.17.0, F-Secure Anti-Virus 9.0.16160.0, Ikarus Virus Utilities T3 Command Line Scanner 1.1.97.0, McAfee Anti-Virus Scanning Engine 5.400.0.1158, McAfee Gateway (formerly Webwasher) 2010.1C, and nProtect Anti-Virus 2011-01-17.01 allows remote attackers to bypass malware detection via an ELF file with a ustar character sequence at a certain location. NOTE: this may later be SPLIT into multiple CVEs if additional information is published showing that the error occurred independently in different ELF parser implementations.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/16/2019
The vulnerability described in CVE-2012-1429 represents a critical flaw in multiple antivirus software implementations that affects their ability to properly parse and analyze executable files. This issue specifically targets the ELF (Executable and Linkable Format) file parser functionality present in several commercial antivirus solutions including Bitdefender 7.2, Comodo Antivirus 7424, and various other security products. The flaw allows malicious actors to craft ELF files that contain a ustar character sequence positioned at a specific location within the file structure, enabling them to evade detection mechanisms that should identify potentially malicious code.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from improper handling of the ustar format within ELF file parsing routines. The ustar format is a standard archive format used primarily in Unix-like systems that defines a specific structure for storing file metadata including file names, permissions, and other attributes. When an ELF parser encounters an ELF file containing a ustar character sequence at a predetermined offset, the parsing logic fails to properly identify the file as a potentially malicious executable, thus allowing the malware to bypass the security scanning process. This type of vulnerability falls under CWE-129, which addresses improper validation of input boundaries, and specifically relates to improper handling of file format parsing sequences.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant as it provides attackers with a method to circumvent security controls that are fundamental to endpoint protection. Security administrators and system operators who rely on these antivirus solutions for malware detection may find their defenses compromised when encountering specifically crafted ELF files. The vulnerability affects not only individual antivirus products but also represents a broader issue in how different security vendors implement file format parsing, suggesting that similar flaws might exist in other implementations that have not yet been identified. This type of bypass mechanism aligns with techniques described in the ATT&CK framework under adversary tactics related to evasion and execution.
The implications extend beyond simple malware detection failure as this vulnerability demonstrates the fragility of signature-based and heuristic analysis systems when dealing with malformed or specially crafted input. Attackers can exploit this weakness to deliver malicious payloads that would otherwise be identified by standard scanning mechanisms, potentially leading to successful compromise of systems that trust these security products to provide adequate protection. The fact that this vulnerability affects multiple distinct antivirus vendors suggests that the underlying issue is not isolated to a single implementation but rather reflects common design patterns in ELF parsing that may be shared across different security products.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate patching of affected antivirus solutions and implementation of additional verification mechanisms that can detect malformed file structures. Organizations should consider deploying multiple layers of security controls and not rely solely on signature-based detection methods. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of proper input validation and boundary checking in security software implementations, particularly when processing potentially malicious file formats. Security teams should implement monitoring for anomalous file processing patterns and consider conducting regular vulnerability assessments of their security tooling to identify similar weaknesses in other components of their defensive infrastructure.