CVE-2022-3957 in GPAC
Summary
by MITRE • 11/11/2022
A vulnerability classified as problematic was found in GPAC. Affected by this vulnerability is the function svg_parse_preserveaspectratio of the file scenegraph/svg_attributes.c of the component SVG Parser. The manipulation leads to memory leak. The attack can be launched remotely. The name of the patch is 2191e66aa7df750e8ef01781b1930bea87b713bb. It is recommended to apply a patch to fix this issue. The associated identifier of this vulnerability is VDB-213463.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/17/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-3957 represents a memory leak issue within the GPAC multimedia framework's SVG parser component. This flaw specifically affects the svg_parse_preserveaspectratio function located in the scenegraph/svg_attributes.c file, making it a critical concern for systems that process or render scalable vector graphics. The vulnerability has been classified as problematic due to its potential to consume excessive system resources over time, ultimately leading to performance degradation or system instability. The memory leak occurs during the parsing of SVG attributes, particularly when handling the preserveAspectRatio property, which is fundamental to maintaining aspect ratio preservation during vector graphic rendering. This issue is particularly concerning as it can be exploited remotely, meaning that attackers do not require local access to the system to trigger the vulnerability.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from improper memory management within the SVG parsing routine, where allocated memory for processing preserveAspectRatio attributes is not properly released after use. This memory leak pattern aligns with CWE-401, which specifically addresses memory leaks in software applications. The vulnerability's remote exploitability suggests that malicious actors could craft specially formatted SVG content that, when processed by affected GPAC implementations, would continuously consume system memory without proper cleanup. The patch referenced in the vulnerability report, identified by the commit hash 2191e66aa7df750e8ef01781b1930bea87b713bb, addresses this issue by ensuring proper memory deallocation mechanisms are implemented within the svg_parse_preserveaspectratio function. This approach directly mitigates the memory consumption pattern that leads to the leak, aligning with the ATT&CK technique T1499.004 which covers resource exhaustion attacks through memory leaks and similar vulnerabilities.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple performance degradation to potentially enable more sophisticated attack vectors. Systems that rely heavily on SVG processing, such as web browsers, multimedia applications, or content management systems using GPAC libraries, could experience progressive memory consumption that eventually leads to application crashes or system resource exhaustion. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to perform denial-of-service attacks against systems processing SVG content, particularly in environments where SVG files are frequently downloaded or rendered. The remote nature of the exploit means that this vulnerability could be weaponized in web-based attacks, where malicious SVG content delivered through compromised websites or email attachments could systematically drain memory resources on affected systems. Organizations should consider implementing network monitoring to detect unusual memory consumption patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts, as the vulnerability's impact would be gradual rather than immediately catastrophic.
Security practitioners should prioritize patching this vulnerability as part of their regular update cycles, particularly in environments where SVG content processing is prevalent. The fix implemented in the referenced patch demonstrates proper memory management practices that should serve as a model for similar vulnerabilities in other software components. Organizations running GPAC-based applications should also consider implementing additional security controls such as input validation for SVG content and resource limits on memory consumption for processes handling vector graphics. The vulnerability's classification as remotely exploitable places it within the ATT&CK framework's broader category of resource exhaustion techniques, making it a priority for incident response teams to monitor for potential exploitation attempts. Additionally, system administrators should consider implementing automated patch management solutions to ensure timely deployment of security fixes and prevent exploitation of known vulnerabilities like CVE-2022-3957.