CVE-2016-9960 in game-music-emu
Summary
by MITRE
game-music-emu before 0.6.1 allows local users to cause a denial of service (divide by zero and process crash).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/08/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-9960 affects the game-music-emu library version 0.6.1 and earlier, representing a critical denial of service flaw that can be exploited by local attackers to crash processes. This library serves as a software emulator for various video game music formats, commonly utilized in multimedia applications and game emulators to reproduce classic soundtracks from video games. The flaw manifests when the software encounters specific malformed input data during audio processing, leading to a division by zero error that ultimately results in application termination. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it can be triggered through local user interaction, making it accessible to any user with access to the system where the affected library is deployed.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation within the audio decoding routines of the game-music-emu library. When processing certain corrupted or malformed music files, the software fails to properly validate mathematical operations, specifically division operations that can result in division by zero conditions. This type of error represents a classic software bug pattern that falls under CWE-369, which describes the condition where a division operation attempts to divide by zero. The flaw occurs in the library's handling of audio data streams where specific bit patterns or malformed data structures can cause arithmetic operations to compute division by zero, leading to immediate process termination. This vulnerability demonstrates poor error handling practices and inadequate boundary checking in the software's mathematical computation routines.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption, as it can affect a wide range of applications that depend on the game-music-emu library for audio processing. Systems that utilize this library for music playback in emulators, multimedia applications, or embedded systems could experience unexpected crashes, potentially leading to complete system instability or denial of service for legitimate users. The vulnerability affects both desktop and mobile applications that incorporate this library, creating a broad attack surface. In enterprise environments where multiple applications rely on the same library instance, a single exploitation could cause cascading failures across different software components. The local nature of the attack means that any user with access to the system can potentially trigger the vulnerability, making it particularly dangerous in multi-user environments or shared computing resources.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate patching of the affected library to version 0.6.1 or later, which includes proper input validation and error handling mechanisms to prevent division by zero conditions. System administrators should implement comprehensive monitoring to detect unusual process termination patterns that could indicate exploitation attempts. The fix involves implementing robust input sanitization and mathematical operation validation before any arithmetic computations are performed. Additionally, application developers should adopt defensive programming practices including bounds checking and proper error handling for all mathematical operations. Organizations should consider implementing application sandboxing and privilege separation to limit the potential impact of successful exploitation. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability aligns with techniques involving privilege escalation and denial of service, as attackers can leverage the flaw to disrupt legitimate system operations. Regular security assessments and dependency updates should be implemented to prevent similar vulnerabilities from emerging in other software components that may be susceptible to similar mathematical error conditions.