CVE-2017-14857 in Exiv2
Summary
by MITRE
In Exiv2 0.26, there is an invalid free in the Image class in image.cpp that leads to a Segmentation fault. A crafted input will lead to a denial of service attack.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/05/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-14857 represents a critical memory management flaw within the Exiv2 library version 0.26, specifically affecting the Image class implementation in image.cpp. This issue manifests as an invalid free operation that occurs during the handling of malformed image data, creating a dangerous condition that can be exploited by malicious actors. The flaw exists in the library's memory deallocation mechanism where the system attempts to free memory that has either already been freed or was never properly allocated, resulting in a segmentation fault that terminates the application process.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability requires an attacker to craft a specially formatted input file that triggers the problematic code path within the Image class destructor or cleanup functions. When the Exiv2 library processes this malformed input, it follows a code sequence that leads to attempting to free memory resources that are either already deallocated or invalid, causing the operating system to generate a segmentation fault. This type of vulnerability falls under the category of heap-based buffer overflows and memory corruption issues, which are classified as CWE-415 in the Common Weakness Enumeration system. The improper memory management pattern demonstrates a classic double-free or use-after-free condition that can be leveraged for denial of service attacks against applications that rely on Exiv2 for image metadata processing.
The operational impact of CVE-2017-14857 extends beyond simple service disruption, as it can be weaponized to create persistent denial of service conditions in applications that utilize Exiv2 for image handling. Systems that process untrusted image files, such as web applications, content management systems, or digital asset management platforms, become vulnerable to this attack vector. The vulnerability can be exploited through various attack vectors including file uploads, image processing pipelines, or any application interface that accepts image files and processes them through the Exiv2 library. This weakness directly maps to ATT&CK technique T1499.004, which describes the use of resource exhaustion or denial of service attacks against applications that process media files or image data.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate application of the official patch released by the Exiv2 development team, which addresses the improper memory deallocation in the Image class destructor. Organizations should implement comprehensive input validation and sanitization measures to prevent malformed image data from reaching the Exiv2 processing layer, though this approach alone does not fully address the underlying memory corruption issue. Security teams should also consider implementing application sandboxing or containerization techniques to limit the impact of potential exploitation, and establish monitoring protocols to detect unusual application termination patterns that may indicate successful exploitation attempts. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical importance of proper memory management in C++ applications and the necessity of thorough code review processes to identify and prevent heap corruption issues that can lead to system instability and denial of service conditions.