CVE-2012-2870 in iOS
Summary
by MITRE
libxslt 1.1.26 and earlier, as used in Google Chrome before 21.0.1180.89, does not properly manage memory, which might allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) via a crafted XSLT expression that is not properly identified during XPath navigation, related to (1) the xsltCompileLocationPathPattern function in libxslt/pattern.c and (2) the xsltGenerateIdFunction function in libxslt/functions.c.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/25/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2012-2870 represents a critical memory management flaw within libxslt version 1.1.26 and earlier implementations. This issue specifically affects Google Chrome browsers prior to version 21.0.1180.89, where the xslt library fails to properly handle memory allocation during XPath navigation operations. The flaw stems from improper memory handling within two distinct functions: xsltCompileLocationPathPattern in libxslt/pattern.c and xsltGenerateIdFunction in libxslt/functions.c, creating a pathway for remote attackers to exploit memory corruption vulnerabilities.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the manipulation of XSLT expressions that are processed through XPath navigation mechanisms. When crafted XSLT expressions are passed through the affected functions, the memory management routines fail to properly identify and handle the complex memory structures required for XPath evaluation. This leads to improper memory allocation and deallocation patterns that can result in application crashes or more severe memory corruption conditions. The vulnerability specifically targets the way libxslt handles location path patterns and id generation functions, creating opportunities for attackers to craft malicious XSLT content that triggers these memory management failures.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents a significant denial of service risk that can be exploited remotely without requiring authentication or specialized privileges. Attackers can craft malicious XSLT content that, when processed by affected Chrome versions, causes the application to crash and terminate unexpectedly. The impact extends beyond simple service interruption as the memory corruption patterns could potentially be leveraged for more sophisticated attacks, particularly when combined with other vulnerabilities or exploitation techniques. The vulnerability affects web applications that rely on XSLT processing for XML transformation, making it particularly dangerous in environments where users might encounter untrusted content.
The flaw aligns with CWE-121, which addresses stack-based buffer overflow conditions, and CWE-122, which covers heap-based buffer overflow conditions, as the memory management issues manifest through improper handling of allocated memory structures. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1059.007 for Scripting and T1499.004 for Network Denial of Service, representing both command execution and service interruption attack vectors. The vulnerability also demonstrates characteristics of T1557.001 for Adversary-in-the-Middle, as attackers can manipulate XML content to trigger the memory corruption conditions during processing.
Mitigation strategies should prioritize immediate patching of affected Chrome versions to 21.0.1180.89 or later, which contain fixes for the memory management issues in libxslt. Organizations should implement strict input validation for all XSLT content processed by web applications, particularly when handling user-supplied data. Network administrators should consider implementing web application firewalls that can detect and block suspicious XSLT patterns. Additionally, browser security configurations should be reviewed to ensure that XSLT processing is limited or disabled where possible. Regular security updates and vulnerability assessments should be conducted to identify and remediate similar memory management issues in other third-party libraries and components.