CVE-2024-58249 in wxWidgets
Summary
by MITRE • 04/16/2025
In wxWidgets before 3.2.7, a crash can be triggered in wxWidgets apps when connections are refused in wxWebRequestCURL.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/01/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-58249 represents a critical stability issue within the wxWidgets cross-platform application framework that affects versions prior to 3.2.7. This flaw manifests as a crash condition that occurs specifically when wxWidgets applications attempt to handle network connections that are refused during web request operations through the wxWebRequestCURL component. The issue stems from inadequate error handling mechanisms within the underlying curl library integration that wxWidgets employs for web communications, creating a scenario where connection failures are not properly managed leading to application termination.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in the improper handling of connection refusal scenarios within the wxWebRequestCURL implementation. When a network connection attempt fails due to the remote server refusing the connection, the application framework does not gracefully process this error condition. Instead, the system encounters a null pointer dereference or memory access violation that results in an unhandled exception and subsequent application crash. This behavior directly relates to CWE-476 which addresses null pointer dereference conditions, and potentially CWE-121 which involves stack-based buffer overflow conditions that can occur during error handling. The vulnerability affects the core networking functionality of wxWidgets applications and demonstrates a fundamental flaw in the error recovery mechanisms of the framework's web request handling subsystem.
The operational impact of CVE-2024-58249 extends beyond simple application instability to potentially compromise user experience and system reliability in environments where wxWidgets applications are deployed. Applications utilizing web request functionality such as software updaters, network monitoring tools, or any application that communicates with remote servers through wxWidgets may become unstable when encountering refused connections. This vulnerability particularly affects applications that rely on automatic failover mechanisms or those that do not implement proper connection error handling at the application level. The crash condition can occur in various network scenarios including server maintenance, network outages, or when attempting to connect to non-responsive endpoints, making it a significant concern for production environments where reliability is paramount.
Organizations deploying wxWidgets applications should prioritize immediate patching to version 3.2.7 or later to mitigate this vulnerability. The recommended mitigation strategy involves updating all affected applications to use the patched version of wxWidgets that includes proper error handling for refused connections. Additionally, application developers should implement defensive programming practices including proper exception handling and connection timeout management in their code to provide additional layers of protection. From a cybersecurity perspective, this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.004 which covers network disruption attacks, as the crash condition effectively creates a denial of service scenario for affected applications. System administrators should also consider implementing network monitoring to detect unusual connection patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts or misconfigurations that could trigger this vulnerability. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of robust error handling in network applications and highlights the need for comprehensive testing of failure scenarios in software development lifecycle processes.