CVE-2017-14564 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 .xps file, related to "Data from Faulting Address controls Branch Selection starting at STDUXPSFile!DllUnregisterServer+0x0000000000028657."
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/17/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-14564 affects STDU Viewer version 1.6.375, a document viewing application that processes XPS (XML Paper Specification) files. This flaw represents a critical security issue that can be exploited through maliciously crafted XPS documents, potentially leading to system instability or arbitrary code execution. The vulnerability specifically resides within the STDUXPSFile component of the software, where improper handling of malformed input data creates exploitable conditions that can be leveraged by threat actors to disrupt system operations or gain unauthorized access to affected systems.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and memory management within the XPS file processing pipeline. When the application encounters a specially crafted .xps file, the parsing routine fails to properly validate the structure and content of the document, particularly around the faulting address mentioned in the vulnerability description. This failure allows attackers to manipulate the control flow of the application by influencing branch selection logic during the DllUnregisterServer function execution, which operates at offset 0x0000000000028657 within the STDUXPSFile module. The vulnerability manifests as a classic buffer overflow or memory corruption issue where attacker-controlled data can overwrite critical program execution paths.
From an operational standpoint, this vulnerability presents significant risks to organizations that rely on STDU Viewer for document processing, particularly in environments where users might encounter untrusted or malicious documents. The denial of service aspect means that legitimate users could be unable to access documents, while the unspecified other impacts suggest potential for more severe consequences including privilege escalation or remote code execution. The attack vector is particularly concerning because XPS files are commonly used in business environments and can be easily distributed through email attachments, file sharing systems, or web downloads, making exploitation relatively straightforward for threat actors.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-125: Out-of-bounds Read and CWE-787: Out-of-bounds Write, both of which are categorized under the broader category of memory safety issues that have been consistently identified as critical threats in software security assessments. From the MITRE ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability could be leveraged as part of a broader attack chain under techniques such as T1203: Exploitation for Client Execution or T1059: Command and Scripting Interpreter, depending on the specific exploitation method. Organizations should consider this vulnerability in the context of their overall security posture, particularly in relation to endpoint protection and application whitelisting strategies.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2017-14564 should prioritize immediate software updates from the vendor, as version 1.6.375 is likely to contain fixes for the memory handling issues that enable this exploit. System administrators should implement network-level controls to block XPS file types where possible, particularly in environments where users have limited security awareness. Additional defensive measures include deploying application sandboxing solutions, implementing strict file validation policies, and conducting regular vulnerability assessments to identify similar issues in other document processing applications. Organizations should also consider implementing security monitoring to detect anomalous behavior that might indicate exploitation attempts, particularly around file processing activities and system resource consumption patterns.