CVE-2016-5844 in libarchive
Summary
by MITRE
Integer overflow in the ISO parser in libarchive before 3.2.1 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) via a crafted ISO file.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/19/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-5844 represents a critical integer overflow flaw within the ISO parser component of libarchive library versions prior to 3.2.1. This issue manifests when the library processes malformed ISO files that contain crafted integer values, leading to unpredictable behavior and potential system instability. The vulnerability resides in the library's handling of size calculations during ISO file parsing operations, where insufficient input validation allows maliciously constructed data to trigger arithmetic overflow conditions that ultimately result in application termination.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through the manipulation of integer values within ISO file structures that libarchive attempts to parse. When the parser encounters an oversized or malformed size field in the ISO file metadata, the integer overflow condition causes the application to allocate insufficient memory or perform invalid memory operations. This flaw specifically affects the ISO 9660 filesystem implementation within libarchive, where the library calculates buffer sizes based on potentially malicious input values. The overflow typically occurs during the processing of volume descriptor pointers or file size fields that exceed the maximum representable value for the target integer type, causing the application to crash or behave unpredictably.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to systems that utilize libarchive for processing untrusted ISO files, including web applications, file processing services, and content management systems. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting specially formatted ISO files that, when processed by vulnerable applications, trigger the integer overflow condition and cause denial of service. The impact extends beyond simple application crashes to potentially enable more sophisticated attacks depending on the broader system context, as the crash can be leveraged for information disclosure or privilege escalation in certain scenarios. The vulnerability affects a wide range of applications that depend on libarchive for archive and filesystem operations, making it a critical concern for system administrators and security practitioners.
The vulnerability maps directly to CWE-190, which describes integer overflow conditions that can lead to memory corruption and application instability. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability aligns with the T1499.004 technique related to network denial of service and represents a classic example of a memory safety vulnerability that can be exploited through crafted input. The remediation strategy involves upgrading to libarchive version 3.2.1 or later, which includes proper input validation and overflow checking mechanisms. Organizations should also implement defensive measures such as input sanitization, file format validation, and network segmentation to limit the attack surface. Additionally, regular security audits and vulnerability assessments should be conducted to identify other potential integer overflow conditions in similar libraries and applications, as these types of vulnerabilities remain prevalent in software systems.