CVE-2021-45290 in Binaryen
Summary
by MITRE • 12/21/2021
A Denial of Service vulnerability exits in Binaryen 103 due to an assertion abort in wasm::handle_unreachable.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/25/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2021-45290 represents a critical denial of service condition within the Binaryen webassembly compiler toolchain version 103. This issue manifests as an assertion abort during the processing of webassembly modules, specifically within the wasm::handle_unreachable function. Binaryen serves as a crucial component in the webassembly ecosystem, providing optimization and compilation capabilities for webassembly modules that are increasingly prevalent in modern web applications and server-side environments. The vulnerability affects the robustness of webassembly processing pipelines and can potentially disrupt services that depend on Binaryen for webassembly module handling.
The technical flaw stems from inadequate error handling within the wasm::handle_unreachable function, which is responsible for managing unreachable code segments within webassembly modules. When processing malformed or malicious webassembly input, the function fails to properly validate input conditions before attempting to handle unreachable code paths. This assertion failure results in an abrupt termination of the Binaryen process rather than graceful error recovery or proper error reporting. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it can be triggered through crafted webassembly modules that contain unexpected unreachable code sequences, making it exploitable in environments where untrusted webassembly content is processed.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption to potentially compromise entire webassembly processing pipelines and applications that rely on Binaryen for module compilation and optimization. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to perform denial of service attacks against systems processing webassembly content, including web browsers, webassembly runtimes, and server-side applications that utilize Binaryen. The vulnerability affects the availability aspect of the webassembly processing stack, as legitimate webassembly modules may be rejected due to this assertion failure rather than being properly handled. This can result in cascading failures within webassembly-based applications and services that depend on robust processing capabilities.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2021-45290 should prioritize immediate patching of Binaryen to version 104 or later, which contains the necessary fixes for the assertion abort condition. Organizations should also implement input validation and sanitization measures for any webassembly content processed through Binaryen, including the use of webassembly validation tools and sandboxing techniques. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-476 which addresses null pointer dereferences and improper error handling conditions, and relates to ATT&CK technique T1499.004 which covers network denial of service attacks. Additionally, implementing proper error handling mechanisms and logging should be considered as part of defensive measures, as this vulnerability demonstrates the importance of robust error recovery in compiler toolchains that process potentially malicious input.