CVE-2018-11410 in Liblouis
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in Liblouis 3.5.0. A invalid free in the compileRule function in compileTranslationTable.c allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/17/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-11410 represents a critical memory management flaw within Liblouis version 3.5.0, a widely-used braille translation library that processes text into braille formats for accessibility purposes. This issue manifests as an invalid free operation occurring within the compileRule function located in the compileTranslationTable.c source file, fundamentally compromising the library's stability and security posture. The flaw enables malicious actors to exploit memory corruption patterns that can be triggered through specially crafted input data during the translation process, creating a potential pathway for unauthorized system disruption.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-415, which addresses double free conditions in memory management operations, and CWE-416, covering use after free errors that occur when memory is accessed after being released. The invalid free operation in compileRule function demonstrates a classic memory safety issue where the application attempts to free memory that has already been freed or was never allocated, leading to unpredictable behavior. This particular flaw operates at the intersection of software security and accessibility technology, where the impact extends beyond traditional security boundaries into operational reliability concerns. The vulnerability's remote exploitation capability means that attackers can trigger the memory corruption from external sources without requiring local system access, making it particularly dangerous in networked environments.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risks to systems that rely on Liblouis for braille generation, including accessibility services, educational platforms, and assistive technology applications. The potential for denial of service attacks can disrupt critical accessibility services for users who depend on braille output, while the unspecified other impacts suggest possibilities for more severe consequences including arbitrary code execution or information disclosure. The vulnerability affects any application that utilizes Liblouis version 3.5.0 for translation table compilation, including web applications, desktop software, and mobile platforms that provide braille rendering capabilities. Attackers can craft malicious translation rules or input data that will trigger the invalid free operation when processed by the vulnerable library, leading to application crashes or potentially more serious system compromise.
Security mitigations for CVE-2018-11410 primarily involve immediate patching of affected Liblouis installations to version 3.6.0 or later, which contains the necessary memory management fixes. Organizations should implement comprehensive vulnerability management processes to identify all systems utilizing Liblouis and ensure timely updates. Additionally, input validation and sanitization measures can provide defense-in-depth protection by filtering malicious translation rules before they reach the vulnerable library functions. System administrators should monitor for unusual application behavior or crash patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts, while network security controls can be configured to restrict access to services that process untrusted translation data. The vulnerability also underscores the importance of secure coding practices in accessibility software, where memory safety issues can have particularly severe impacts on user experience and system availability. Compliance with security standards such as those outlined in the OWASP Top Ten and NIST cybersecurity frameworks becomes critical when managing libraries that serve essential accessibility functions. Organizations should also consider implementing application sandboxing or containerization strategies to limit the potential impact of memory corruption vulnerabilities in critical accessibility infrastructure.