CVE-2017-7592 in LibTIFF
Summary
by MITRE
The putagreytile function in tif_getimage.c in LibTIFF 4.0.7 has a left-shift undefined behavior issue, which might allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact via a crafted image.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/27/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-7592 resides within the LibTIFF library version 4.0.7, specifically in the putagreytile function located in the tif_getimage.c source file. This issue represents a critical security flaw that stems from undefined behavior during left-shift operations, creating potential attack vectors for remote adversaries seeking to compromise systems utilizing this library. The vulnerability manifests when processing crafted image files that trigger problematic arithmetic operations within the image decoding pipeline, fundamentally undermining the library's stability and reliability.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in the improper handling of bitwise left-shift operations within the putagreytile function where integer overflow conditions can occur without proper bounds checking or validation. According to CWE-758, this represents a weakness where undefined behavior in a program can lead to unpredictable results including crashes, data corruption, or potentially exploitable conditions. The undefined behavior arises when the shift amount exceeds the width of the integer type being operated upon, creating a scenario where the compiler's handling of such operations may produce inconsistent or dangerous results across different platforms and compilation environments.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risks to systems that process untrusted image data through LibTIFF, including web applications, image processing services, and document management systems. Attackers can craft malicious image files that, when processed by vulnerable applications, will trigger the undefined left-shift behavior and cause application crashes or system instability. The potential impact extends beyond simple denial of service to include possible information disclosure or execution of arbitrary code depending on the specific environment and application context, making this a serious concern for security-conscious organizations.
The attack surface for this vulnerability is broad as LibTIFF is widely used across numerous applications and operating systems for handling tiff image files. Systems that automatically process or convert image files, including web servers, content management systems, and digital asset management platforms, are particularly at risk. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1203 by enabling adversaries to cause system instability and potentially gain unauthorized access through service disruption. Organizations should consider implementing input validation measures and restricting image file processing to trusted sources until proper patches are applied.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate patching of affected LibTIFF versions to 4.0.8 or later, which contains the necessary fixes for the undefined left-shift behavior. Additionally, organizations should implement strict image file validation processes, including size limits and format verification, to prevent exploitation of this and similar vulnerabilities. Network segmentation and application-level sandboxing can provide additional protection layers while patches are deployed. Security monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual application crashes or memory access patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper integer overflow handling in image processing libraries and underscores the need for comprehensive code review processes that identify and address undefined behavior in low-level system components.