CVE-2019-19590 in radare2
Summary
by MITRE
In radare2 through 4.0, there is an integer overflow for the variable new_token_size in the function r_asm_massemble at libr/asm/asm.c. This integer overflow will result in a Use-After-Free for the buffer tokens, which can be filled with arbitrary malicious data after the free. This allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code via crafted input.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/07/2024
The vulnerability CVE-2019-19590 represents a critical integer overflow condition within the radare2 reverse engineering framework version 4.0 and earlier. This flaw exists in the r_asm_massemble function located in the libr/asm/asm.c source file, where the variable new_token_size undergoes improper integer arithmetic that can lead to overflow conditions. The integer overflow occurs during the assembly process when the software handles token size calculations for buffer management. This specific vulnerability falls under the CWE-190 category of Integer Overflow or Wraparound, which is a well-documented weakness in software security that can lead to various exploitable conditions.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability manifests through a Use-After-Free condition that occurs when the buffer tokens are freed but not properly invalidated, allowing subsequent memory operations to write arbitrary malicious data into the previously freed memory space. This memory corruption scenario creates opportunities for attackers to manipulate program execution flow through controlled data injection into the freed buffer. The vulnerability specifically affects the assembly processing functionality of radare2, which is widely used by security researchers, penetration testers, and developers for binary analysis and reverse engineering tasks. When an attacker provides crafted input to the assembly function, the integer overflow causes the buffer management system to allocate insufficient memory or miscalculate memory boundaries, leading to the freed memory being overwritten with attacker-controlled data.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service scenarios to potentially enable remote code execution in certain conditions. The Use-After-Free condition creates a memory corruption vulnerability that can be leveraged by attackers to achieve arbitrary code execution, particularly when the application continues to reference the freed memory location after it has been overwritten. This makes CVE-2019-19590 particularly dangerous in environments where radare2 is used for analyzing potentially malicious binaries or in automated security testing scenarios. The vulnerability affects both local and remote attack vectors since radare2 can be invoked through various interfaces including command-line operations, API calls, and network services that may process user-supplied assembly code or binary data. Security researchers and red teams who rely on radare2 for their work may inadvertently expose themselves to this vulnerability when analyzing untrusted input or when the tool is used in automated processing pipelines.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2019-19590 should focus on immediate patch application to radare2 version 4.1 or later, where the integer overflow has been corrected through proper bounds checking and overflow protection mechanisms. Organizations should implement input validation measures that sanitize all assembly code inputs and avoid processing untrusted binary data through the affected assembly functions. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper integer arithmetic handling in security-critical software components, particularly in memory management functions. System administrators and security teams should monitor for exploitation attempts through network traffic analysis and application logs that might indicate attempts to trigger the integer overflow condition. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under T1059.007 for Command and Scripting Interpreter and T1203 for Exploitation for Client Execution, as it enables attackers to execute malicious code through the compromised assembly processing functionality. Additionally, the vulnerability highlights the necessity of implementing robust memory safety practices including stack canaries, address space layout randomization, and control flow integrity checks to prevent exploitation of similar integer overflow conditions in other software components.