CVE-2019-20165 in GPAC
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in GPAC version 0.8.0 and 0.9.0-development-20191109. There is a NULL pointer dereference in the function ilst_item_Read() in isomedia/box_code_apple.c.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/18/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-20165 represents a critical NULL pointer dereference flaw within the GPAC multimedia framework version 0.8.0 and the development version 0.9.0-release-20191109. This issue occurs in the ilst_item_Read() function located within the isomedia/box_code_apple.c source file, which is responsible for processing Apple-specific metadata boxes in mp4 files. The flaw manifests when the application processes malformed or specially crafted mp4 files that contain invalid or missing metadata structures, leading to an unhandled null pointer access during the parsing process. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-476 category of NULL Pointer Dereference, which is a fundamental programming error that can lead to application crashes and potentially more severe security implications. The issue demonstrates a classic lack of proper input validation and error handling in multimedia file processing libraries, where the software fails to adequately check for null references before attempting to dereference them.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple application instability, as it creates a potential denial of service condition that can be exploited by malicious actors. When a victim system attempts to process an attacker-controlled mp4 file containing malformed metadata, the ilst_item_Read() function will encounter a NULL pointer and attempt to dereference it, resulting in an application crash or termination. This behavior can be particularly dangerous in automated systems or applications that process untrusted media files, such as web browsers, media players, or content management systems. The vulnerability affects the broader multimedia processing ecosystem since GPAC is widely used in various applications including streaming servers, media players, and content creation tools. From an attack perspective, this issue aligns with ATT&CK technique T1203 by creating a condition that can be exploited to cause system instability or service disruption.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2019-20165 should prioritize immediate software updates to versions that contain patches addressing the NULL pointer dereference in the ilst_item_Read() function. Organizations should implement comprehensive input validation measures for all media file processing pipelines, particularly those involving mp4 files with Apple-specific metadata. The fix typically involves adding proper null pointer checks before any dereference operations in the affected function, ensuring that the code gracefully handles malformed metadata structures rather than crashing. Additionally, security teams should consider implementing sandboxing mechanisms for media processing, network segmentation to isolate vulnerable applications, and regular vulnerability assessments to identify similar issues in other multimedia libraries. System administrators should also monitor for unusual application crashes or service disruptions that might indicate exploitation attempts, while maintaining updated threat intelligence feeds to track related attack patterns targeting multimedia processing vulnerabilities. The remediation process should include thorough regression testing to ensure that the patch does not introduce new functionality issues while effectively addressing the core dereference vulnerability.