CVE-2016-9591 in Jasper
Summary
by MITRE
JasPer before version 2.0.12 is vulnerable to a use-after-free in the way it decodes certain JPEG 2000 image files resulting in a crash on the application using JasPer.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/17/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-9591 affects JasPer library versions prior to 2.0.12, presenting a critical use-after-free condition during JPEG 2000 image file decoding operations. This flaw resides in the library's handling of malformed image data structures that can trigger memory management errors when processing specific JPEG 2000 files. The vulnerability manifests when the decoder encounters certain corrupted or maliciously crafted image payloads that cause the application to access memory locations after they have been freed, leading to unpredictable behavior and system instability.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and memory management practices within the JPEG 2000 decoding component of JasPer. When processing malformed image data, the library fails to properly validate the structure of the incoming data before attempting to allocate or deallocate memory resources. This particular flaw maps to CWE-416, which specifically addresses use-after-free vulnerabilities where program code attempts to access memory after it has been freed. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because JPEG 2000 is a widely supported image format used across numerous applications, making the attack surface extensive.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to applications that utilize JasPer for image processing, including web browsers, image viewers, document management systems, and multimedia applications. The use-after-free condition can result in application crashes, denial of service conditions, or potentially more severe consequences if the memory corruption allows for arbitrary code execution. Attackers could exploit this vulnerability by crafting malicious JPEG 2000 files designed to trigger the specific memory access pattern that leads to the use-after-free condition, potentially causing applications to crash or behave unpredictably when processing these images.
The impact extends beyond simple application instability as this vulnerability affects the broader ecosystem of software that depends on JasPer for image handling capabilities. The flaw demonstrates the critical importance of proper memory management in image processing libraries, particularly when dealing with complex formats like JPEG 2000 that involve sophisticated decoding algorithms. Organizations using affected versions of JasPer should prioritize immediate patching, as the vulnerability can be exploited remotely through web-based applications or file processing systems that accept user-uploaded images. The remediation strategy involves upgrading to JasPer version 2.0.12 or later, which includes proper input validation and memory management fixes that prevent the use-after-free condition from occurring during JPEG 2000 file processing operations.
This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1203, which covers exploitation of memory corruption vulnerabilities, and reflects common patterns seen in image processing library exploits. The security implications underscore the need for comprehensive input validation and memory safety practices in multimedia libraries, particularly those handling complex binary formats that require extensive parsing and memory allocation operations. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical nature of secure coding practices in widely-used open source libraries and the potential for seemingly benign image processing operations to become attack vectors when proper memory management is not implemented.