CVE-2017-1000072 in Gravity
Summary
by MITRE
Creolabs Gravity version 1.0 is vulnerable to a Double Free in gravity_value resulting potentially leading to modification of unexpected memory locations
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/12/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-1000072 affects Creolabs Gravity version 1.0 and represents a critical memory corruption issue classified as a double free vulnerability within the gravity_value function. This type of vulnerability occurs when a program attempts to free the same memory block twice, which can lead to unpredictable behavior and potential exploitation by malicious actors. The flaw specifically manifests in the gravity_value implementation where improper memory management causes the same allocated memory to be deallocated multiple times, creating opportunities for attackers to manipulate program execution flow and potentially execute arbitrary code.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from inadequate memory management practices within the software's memory allocation and deallocation routines. When the gravity_value function processes data structures, it fails to properly track memory blocks that have already been freed, allowing subsequent free operations to target the same memory location. This double free condition can result in heap corruption, where the heap metadata becomes inconsistent and attacker-controlled data can overwrite critical memory regions. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it can lead to modification of unexpected memory locations, which may include program code, data structures, or control flow information that could be leveraged for privilege escalation or remote code execution.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risks to systems running Creolabs Gravity version 1.0, particularly in environments where the software processes untrusted input data or operates with elevated privileges. The double free condition creates opportunities for attackers to manipulate heap layout and potentially redirect program execution to malicious code. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-415, which describes double free conditions in memory management, and can be mapped to ATT&CK technique T1059 for code execution through memory corruption. Systems utilizing this software may be susceptible to arbitrary code execution, denial of service, or information disclosure depending on how the vulnerability is exploited in practice.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should prioritize immediate patching of the Creolabs Gravity software to version 1.0.1 or later, which contains the necessary fixes for the double free condition. Organizations should also implement memory safety measures including heap hardening techniques, address space layout randomization, and stack canaries to reduce the effectiveness of potential exploitation attempts. Additionally, input validation should be strengthened to prevent malformed data from triggering the vulnerable code path, and regular security audits should be conducted to identify similar memory management issues in other software components. Network segmentation and monitoring should be enhanced to detect potential exploitation attempts targeting this vulnerability, while system administrators should maintain comprehensive backup and recovery procedures to address potential system compromise.