CVE-2022-35100 in SWFTools
Summary
by MITRE • 08/17/2022
SWFTools commit 772e55a2 was discovered to contain a segmentation violation via gfxline_getbbox at /lib/gfxtools.c.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/17/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-35100 resides within SWFTools, a collection of utilities for working with Adobe Flash files and related formats. This particular issue manifests as a segmentation fault occurring within the gfxline_getbbox function located in the /lib/gfxtools.c source file. The segmentation violation represents a critical memory access error that can lead to application instability and potential system compromise. The affected commit 772e55a2 indicates this flaw was introduced in a specific code revision, suggesting it may have been present in multiple versions of the software.
The technical flaw stems from improper memory handling within the graphics line bounding box calculation routine. When the gfxline_getbbox function processes certain input parameters, it fails to properly validate memory boundaries or handle edge cases in the graphics data structure. This deficiency results in a segmentation fault that occurs during the execution of graphics processing operations. The vulnerability exhibits characteristics consistent with a buffer overflow or memory corruption issue, where the function attempts to access memory locations outside the allocated bounds. Such issues are particularly dangerous in graphics processing libraries as they can be triggered by malformed input files and potentially exploited by malicious actors.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple application crashes. When exploited, the segmentation fault can cause SWFTools to terminate unexpectedly, leading to denial of service conditions for users relying on these utilities for flash file manipulation. More concerning is the potential for this memory corruption to be leveraged in more sophisticated attacks, particularly when SWFTools is used in automated processing pipelines or web applications. The vulnerability affects any system utilizing the affected version of SWFTools where graphics processing operations are performed, potentially compromising the integrity of the entire processing environment. The flaw is especially problematic in server-side applications that process untrusted Flash content, as it could enable remote code execution or privilege escalation attacks.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2022-35100 should focus on immediate patching of the SWFTools library to the corrected version that addresses the memory handling issue in gfxtools.c. Organizations should implement input validation measures to sanitize all graphics data before processing, particularly when handling untrusted content. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-125, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions, and may also relate to CWE-787, representing out-of-bounds write vulnerabilities. From an attack surface perspective, this issue maps to ATT&CK technique T1203, which involves exploitation of software vulnerabilities for privilege escalation. Security teams should also consider implementing sandboxing mechanisms and runtime monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts. Additionally, regular security audits of graphics processing libraries and maintaining updated threat intelligence on similar vulnerabilities will help prevent similar issues from affecting the broader software ecosystem.