CVE-2015-5380 in Google
Summary
by MITRE
The Utf8DecoderBase::WriteUtf16Slow function in unicode-decoder.cc in Google V8, as used in Node.js before 0.12.6, io.js before 1.8.3 and 2.x before 2.3.3, and other products, does not verify that there is memory available for a UTF-16 surrogate pair, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory corruption) or possibly have unspecified other impact via a crafted byte sequence.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/24/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-5380 resides within the Unicode decoding functionality of Google V8 JavaScript engine, specifically in the Utf8DecoderBase::WriteUtf16Slow function located in unicode-decoder.cc. This flaw affects Node.js versions prior to 0.12.6, io.js versions prior to 1.8.3 and 2.x versions prior to 2.3.3, making it a widespread issue across multiple JavaScript runtime environments. The vulnerability stems from insufficient bounds checking during UTF-8 to UTF-16 conversion operations, creating a potential memory corruption scenario that can be exploited remotely.
The technical implementation flaw occurs when processing malformed UTF-8 byte sequences that appear to represent valid Unicode characters but contain insufficient memory allocation for the resulting UTF-16 surrogate pairs. During the decoding process, the function fails to validate that adequate memory space exists in the destination buffer to accommodate the full UTF-16 representation of the decoded character. This particular weakness maps to CWE-129, which addresses insufficient validation of length of input buffers, and specifically relates to improper handling of Unicode character encoding conversions within the JavaScript engine's core parsing components.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service scenarios to potentially enable more sophisticated attacks. Remote attackers can craft malicious byte sequences that trigger the memory corruption condition, leading to unpredictable behavior in the affected applications. The vulnerability can result in application crashes, memory corruption, and in some cases may allow for arbitrary code execution depending on the specific implementation context and memory layout. This represents a critical security concern for web applications and server-side JavaScript environments that process untrusted user input through the V8 engine's Unicode handling capabilities.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2015-5380 primarily focus on immediate version upgrades to patched releases of affected JavaScript runtimes, including Node.js 0.12.6 and later versions, io.js 1.8.3 and 2.3.3 and later, along with corresponding updates to any other software products utilizing vulnerable V8 engine versions. Organizations should also implement input validation measures to sanitize all Unicode data processing pipelines and consider implementing additional memory protection mechanisms such as Address Space Layout Randomization and Data Execution Prevention. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability aligns with T1059.007 for JavaScript and T1499.004 for network denial of service, representing a critical weakness in application parsing and memory management that requires immediate remediation to prevent exploitation.