CVE-2017-14305 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!DllUnregisterServer+0x0000000000005578."
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/15/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-14305 affects STDU Viewer version 1.6.375, a document viewing application that processes various file formats including the JBIG2 standard. This issue represents a critical security flaw that can be exploited through maliciously crafted .jb2 files, which are compressed bitmap image files commonly used for document storage. The vulnerability stems from improper handling of malformed data within the JBIG2 file format processing module, specifically within the STDUJBIG2File.dll dynamic link library.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in a fault handling mechanism that fails to properly validate input data from a faulting address, leading to unpredictable behavior in the branch selection logic of the DllUnregisterServer function. This particular function address offset 0x0000000000005578 demonstrates a classic buffer overflow or memory corruption vulnerability where attacker-controlled data can influence the execution flow of the application. The flaw occurs during the dynamic link library registration process, indicating that the vulnerability can be triggered even before the application fully initializes its main interface.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service, as the description indicates "possibly have unspecified other impact," suggesting potential for more severe consequences including arbitrary code execution or privilege escalation. When an attacker successfully crafts a malicious .jb2 file, the application crashes during file processing, resulting in a denial of service condition that prevents legitimate users from accessing documents. However, the unspecified nature of additional impacts points to potential for more sophisticated exploitation techniques that could leverage the memory corruption to execute malicious payloads.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-125, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions, and CWE-787, which covers out-of-bounds write conditions, both of which are common in file format parsers that fail to validate input boundaries. From an attack framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to the ATT&CK technique T1203, which involves exploiting software vulnerabilities to gain access to systems, and potentially T1059 for command execution if the vulnerability allows for code injection. The attack vector requires social engineering to convince users to open the malicious file, making it particularly dangerous in environments where users may not be security-aware.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on immediate patching of the STDU Viewer application to version 1.6.376 or later, which contains the necessary fixes for the JBIG2 file processing module. Organizations should implement strict file validation policies that scan incoming documents for potentially malicious content, particularly when dealing with image and document files. Network administrators should consider implementing sandboxing solutions for document processing, and users should be trained to avoid opening untrusted files from unknown sources. Additionally, regular security assessments of document processing applications should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other third-party software components.