CVE-2018-1056 in advancecomp
Summary
by MITRE
An out-of-bounds heap buffer read flaw was found in the way advancecomp before 2.1-2018/02 handled processing of ZIP files. An attacker could potentially use this flaw to crash the advzip utility by tricking it into processing crafted ZIP files.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/27/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-1056 represents a critical heap buffer read flaw within the advancecomp utility, specifically affecting versions prior to 2.1-2018/02. This issue manifests during the processing of ZIP files, where the advzip component fails to properly validate input data structures, leading to memory access violations that can result in application crashes. The flaw exists within the heap memory management system of the utility, where insufficient bounds checking allows for unauthorized memory reads beyond allocated buffer boundaries.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation mechanisms within the ZIP file parsing logic. When advancecomp processes malformed or crafted ZIP archives, the utility attempts to read data from heap-allocated memory regions without proper boundary checks. This condition creates a scenario where the program accesses memory locations that may not contain valid data or may have been freed, resulting in unpredictable behavior including segmentation faults and application termination. The vulnerability specifically affects the advzip utility which is part of the advancecomp suite used for optimizing various archive formats including zip files.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risks to systems that utilize advancecomp for automated archive processing or file optimization tasks. Attackers can exploit this flaw by crafting malicious ZIP files that trigger the out-of-bounds read condition when processed by vulnerable versions of advzip. The impact extends beyond simple application crashes to potentially enable more sophisticated attack vectors, as the heap memory corruption could provide opportunities for information disclosure or even arbitrary code execution depending on the system configuration. This vulnerability directly aligns with CWE-125, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions, and falls under the broader category of memory safety issues that represent common attack surfaces in file processing utilities.
The exploitation of this vulnerability requires minimal privileges and can be executed through standard file processing workflows, making it particularly dangerous in automated environments where ZIP files are regularly processed without user intervention. Organizations using advancecomp in production systems, particularly those handling untrusted input or implementing automated file optimization processes, face elevated risk of service disruption and potential system compromise. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper input validation and memory management in security-critical utilities, as even seemingly benign file processing operations can become attack vectors when insufficient safeguards are implemented. Mitigation efforts should focus on immediate version updates to 2.1 or later releases, along with implementing additional input validation measures and monitoring for suspicious file processing activities that may indicate exploitation attempts. This vulnerability also aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007, which covers execution through script interpreters, as the vulnerability could potentially be leveraged in automated processing environments where ZIP files are regularly handled through command-line utilities.