CVE-2019-9215 in Live555
Summary
by MITRE
In Live555 before 2019.02.27, malformed headers lead to invalid memory access in the parseAuthorizationHeader function.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/26/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-9215 affects the Live555 streaming media library, a widely used open-source framework for multimedia streaming applications. This issue manifests in versions prior to 2019.02.27 and represents a critical memory safety flaw that can lead to arbitrary code execution or system instability. The vulnerability specifically resides within the parseAuthorizationHeader function, which processes authentication headers in streaming protocols such as RTSP and HTTP. The flaw arises when malformed or crafted headers are received during the authorization process, creating conditions that result in invalid memory access patterns that can be exploited by remote attackers.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation within the authorization header parsing logic. When the parseAuthorizationHeader function encounters malformed data structures in the authorization headers, it fails to properly handle boundary conditions and memory allocation scenarios. This deficiency creates opportunities for buffer overflows, null pointer dereferences, or other memory corruption issues that can be leveraged to execute malicious code. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-121, which describes heap-based buffer overflow conditions, and CWE-125, which covers out-of-bounds read vulnerabilities. The improper handling of input data in this context creates a direct pathway for attackers to manipulate memory layouts and potentially gain unauthorized system access.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risks to organizations utilizing Live555 in their streaming infrastructure, particularly those deploying RTSP servers or media streaming applications. Attackers can exploit this flaw by sending specially crafted authorization headers to vulnerable systems, potentially leading to complete system compromise. The impact extends beyond simple denial of service scenarios, as successful exploitation can result in remote code execution, data breaches, or complete system takeover. This vulnerability affects various network services that rely on Live555 for media streaming, including surveillance systems, video conferencing platforms, and content delivery networks that may be exposed to unauthenticated network traffic. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under T1210, which covers exploitation for privilege escalation through improper input handling in network protocols.
Organizations should prioritize immediate remediation by upgrading to Live555 version 2019.02.27 or later, which includes proper input validation and memory safety improvements in the authorization header parsing function. Additional mitigations include implementing network segmentation to limit exposure of vulnerable services, deploying intrusion detection systems to monitor for suspicious header patterns, and applying rate limiting to prevent abuse of the authorization parsing functionality. Security teams should also consider implementing application firewalls that can detect and block malformed headers before they reach the vulnerable code paths. Regular vulnerability assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify any potential variants or similar issues within the broader Live555 codebase or related streaming protocols. The fix implemented in the patched version addresses the core memory safety issues by introducing proper bounds checking and input sanitization measures that prevent the invalid memory access conditions from occurring during authorization header processing.