CVE-2017-14302 in STDU Viewer
Summary
by MITRE
STDU Viewer 1.6.375 allows attackers to cause a denial of service or possibly have unspecified other impact via a crafted .jb2 file, related to "Data from Faulting Address controls Branch Selection starting at STDUJBIG2File!DllGetClassObject+0x00000000000064d7."
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/15/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-14302 affects STDU Viewer version 1.6.375, a document viewing application that processes various file formats including JB2 images. This weakness represents a critical security flaw that stems from inadequate input validation and memory handling within the application's JB2 file processing module. The vulnerability manifests when the application encounters a specially crafted .jb2 file that contains malformed data structures, leading to unpredictable behavior during the file parsing process. The specific technical indicator points to a faulting address that controls branch selection within the STDUJBIG2File.dll module, particularly at the DllGetClassObject function offset 0x64d7, suggesting that the application fails to properly validate or sanitize input data before processing.
The underlying technical flaw constitutes a classic buffer overflow or memory corruption vulnerability that falls under the category of control flow hijacking as defined by CWE-248. When the vulnerable application attempts to parse the malicious JB2 file, it executes code paths that are directly influenced by data extracted from the faulting memory address, allowing an attacker to manipulate the program's execution flow. This type of vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it can potentially lead to arbitrary code execution or complete application crash, depending on how the memory corruption manifests. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple denial of service since the unspecified other impacts could include privilege escalation, information disclosure, or remote code execution depending on the execution environment and system configuration.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risk to organizations that rely on STDU Viewer for document processing, particularly in environments where users might encounter untrusted documents from external sources. The attack vector requires that a user open a specifically crafted JB2 file, making social engineering a potential prerequisite for exploitation. However, the vulnerability's severity escalates when considering that many organizations may not regularly update their document viewer applications, leaving systems exposed to this type of attack. The vulnerability's location within the DllGetClassObject function indicates that it could potentially be exploited during the application's initialization phase when COM components are loaded, making it particularly challenging to defend against through traditional runtime protections.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2017-14302 should prioritize immediate software updates from the vendor, as this vulnerability has likely been addressed in subsequent releases. Organizations should implement strict file validation policies that prevent automatic execution of potentially malicious files, particularly those with JB2 extensions. Network-level protections including email filtering and web application firewalls should be configured to block or quarantine suspicious JB2 files before they reach end-user systems. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1203 - Exploitation for Client Execution, where adversaries leverage application vulnerabilities to execute malicious code on target systems. Additionally, system administrators should consider implementing application whitelisting policies that restrict the execution of untrusted document viewers and establish robust patch management procedures to ensure timely remediation of such vulnerabilities across the enterprise infrastructure.