CVE-2018-10778 in MP3Gain
Summary
by MITRE
Read access violation in the III_dequantize_sample function in mpglibDBL/layer3.c in mp3gain through 1.5.2-r2 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact, a different vulnerability than CVE-2017-9872 and CVE-2017-14409.
If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/02/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-10778 represents a critical read access violation within the mpglibDBL library's III_dequantize_sample function located in the mpglibDBL/layer3.c file. This issue affects mp3gain versions through 1.5.2-r2 and demonstrates a classic buffer over-read condition that can be exploited by remote attackers to trigger application instability. The vulnerability specifically manifests during the processing of MP3 audio files where the application attempts to read data beyond the allocated memory boundaries while performing dequantization operations on layer 3 audio frames. This flaw falls under the broader category of memory safety issues that have plagued multimedia processing libraries for years, creating significant security implications for any system utilizing affected software components.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate bounds checking within the III_dequantize_sample function which processes the dequantization step of MP3 decoding. When processing malformed or specially crafted MP3 files, the function fails to validate array indices or buffer limits before accessing memory locations, allowing an attacker to manipulate input data in such a way that subsequent memory reads occur beyond the intended buffer boundaries. This condition can result in the application attempting to access memory that has not been allocated to the process or has been marked as protected, leading to segmentation faults and application crashes. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it operates at the core decoding layer where audio data is processed, making it accessible through normal file processing operations without requiring special privileges or complex attack vectors.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability creates significant risks for systems that rely on mp3gain for audio processing tasks, including media servers, audio editing workstations, and automated processing pipelines. The denial of service condition can render systems unavailable for legitimate audio processing tasks, potentially disrupting services or workflows that depend on audio file manipulation. Additionally, while the primary impact is denial of service, the nature of memory access violations suggests potential for more severe consequences including information disclosure or arbitrary code execution depending on the specific memory layout and system configuration. The vulnerability's relationship to CVE-2017-9872 and CVE-2017-14409 indicates that this represents part of a broader class of issues affecting MP3 processing libraries, suggesting that similar flaws may exist in other components of the same codebase or related software ecosystems.
Security mitigations for this vulnerability primarily involve immediate patching of affected mp3gain installations to the latest available versions that contain fixed implementations of the III_dequantize_sample function. Organizations should implement comprehensive software inventory management to identify all systems utilizing affected versions of mp3gain and ensure timely deployment of security updates. Input validation measures should be implemented at the application level to sanitize MP3 file inputs before processing, including checks for malformed frame headers and unusual data patterns that could trigger the vulnerability. Network-based defenses should include monitoring for suspicious file upload activities and implementing file type validation to prevent the processing of potentially malicious MP3 files. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-125, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions, and demonstrates characteristics consistent with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for command and script injection in audio processing contexts. System administrators should also consider implementing sandboxing or containerization for audio processing applications to limit the potential impact of successful exploitation attempts and maintain operational continuity during vulnerability remediation activities.