CVE-2018-7553 in sam2p
Summary
by MITRE
There is a heap-based buffer overflow in the pcxLoadRaster function of in_pcx.cpp in sam2p 0.49.4. A crafted input will lead to a denial of service or possibly unspecified other impact.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/16/2023
The heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in CVE-2018-7553 affects the sam2p 0.49.4 software library, specifically within the pcxLoadRaster function located in in_pcx.cpp. This vulnerability represents a critical security flaw that arises from improper input validation and memory management practices during the processing of PCX image files. The issue manifests when the software encounters malformed or specially crafted PCX input data that exceeds the allocated buffer boundaries, creating conditions ripe for memory corruption and system instability.
The technical flaw stems from insufficient bounds checking within the pcxLoadRaster function where the application fails to properly validate the size parameters of incoming PCX raster data before attempting to copy or process this information into fixed-size memory buffers. This classic buffer overflow condition occurs when the program writes more data to a heap-allocated buffer than it can accommodate, leading to adjacent memory locations being overwritten. The vulnerability is categorized under CWE-121 as a stack-based buffer overflow, though in this case it manifests as a heap-based variant due to the heap allocation pattern used by the application. The flaw essentially allows an attacker to manipulate memory layout through carefully constructed input files that trigger the overflow condition during normal image processing operations.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service scenarios to potentially enable more sophisticated attack vectors. When exploited, the buffer overflow can cause the application to crash or behave unpredictably, resulting in complete service disruption for systems relying on sam2p for image conversion tasks. In environments where sam2p is used as part of automated processing pipelines or web services, this vulnerability could be leveraged to create persistent availability issues that affect business operations. The unspecified other impacts mentioned in the description suggest potential for more severe consequences including privilege escalation or arbitrary code execution, particularly if the vulnerable application runs with elevated privileges or processes untrusted input from external sources.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2018-7553 should focus on immediate software updates to versions that contain patched implementations of the pcxLoadRaster function with proper input validation and memory boundary checks. System administrators should implement input sanitization measures that validate all PCX file formats before processing, using additional validation libraries or tools that can detect malformed input patterns. Network segmentation and access controls should be enforced to limit exposure of vulnerable systems, while application-level sandboxing techniques can help contain potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1203 - Exploitation for Client Execution, as it represents a classic exploitation vector targeting application-level memory corruption. Organizations should also consider implementing intrusion detection systems that can identify suspicious file processing patterns and monitor for potential exploitation attempts targeting this specific buffer overflow condition. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should include checks for this specific flaw, particularly in legacy systems where patching may not be immediately feasible.