CVE-2017-1000182 in SWFTools
Summary
by MITRE
In SWFTools, a memory leak was found in wav2swf.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/10/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-1000182 resides within SWFTools, a collection of utilities for working with Adobe Flash files and related formats. This specific issue manifests as a memory leak within the wav2swf component, which is designed to convert audio files into Flash-compatible formats. The memory leak represents a critical flaw that can significantly impact system stability and resource availability. SWFTools has been widely used in various environments for multimedia content creation and manipulation, making this vulnerability particularly concerning for organizations relying on these tools for content processing. The vulnerability affects the conversion process when wav2swf handles certain audio file formats, leading to progressive memory consumption that can eventually exhaust available system resources.
The technical root cause of this memory leak occurs during the processing of audio files by the wav2swf utility. When the tool encounters specific audio data structures or encoding patterns, it fails to properly release allocated memory blocks after processing. This improper memory management leads to a gradual accumulation of unused memory that remains allocated to the process, creating a memory leak condition. The flaw is particularly insidious because it can occur during routine file conversions, making it difficult to detect and prevent through simple monitoring. The memory leak typically manifests when processing large audio files or when the utility is subjected to repeated conversions without proper cleanup of resources. This issue falls under the category of improper resource management, which is classified as CWE-401 in the Common Weakness Enumeration catalog, specifically addressing memory leaks and resource leaks.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple performance degradation, potentially leading to system instability and service disruption. When the memory leak occurs in production environments, it can cause the wav2swf process to consume increasing amounts of system memory over time, eventually leading to system slowdowns, application crashes, or complete system exhaustion. This is particularly problematic in server environments where the utility might be used for automated batch processing of audio files, as the memory consumption can grow unchecked until system resources are depleted. The vulnerability can be exploited by malicious actors who might craft specially formatted audio files designed to trigger the memory leak more rapidly, potentially leading to denial of service conditions. This aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.004 for resource exhaustion, where adversaries leverage memory leaks to consume system resources and prevent legitimate use of computing resources.
Organizations utilizing SWFTools should implement immediate mitigation strategies to address this vulnerability. The most effective approach involves applying the latest available patches from the SWFTools maintainers, which typically include proper memory management fixes and resource cleanup routines. System administrators should also implement monitoring solutions to track memory usage patterns of wav2swf processes and establish automated alerts when memory consumption exceeds normal thresholds. Additionally, implementing input validation and sanitization measures can help prevent exploitation through malformed audio files. For environments where patching is not immediately possible, operational mitigations such as limiting the duration of processing tasks, implementing memory limits for the wav2swf processes, and regularly restarting affected services can help reduce the risk. The vulnerability also underscores the importance of proper software lifecycle management and regular security assessments of third-party tools used in enterprise environments.