Gnuplot 5.2.5 post.trm PS_options Argument memory corruption

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Gnuplot 5.2.5. It has been declared as critical. Affected by this issue is the function PS_options of the file post.trm. Executing a manipulation as part of Argument can lead to memory corruption. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2018-19491. The attack can only be executed locally. There is no exploit available. It is recommended to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Gnuplot 5.2.5 and classified as critical. This vulnerability affects the function PS_options of the file post.trm. The manipulation as part of a Argument leads to a memory corruption vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-119. The product performs operations on a memory buffer, but it can read from or write to a memory location that is outside of the intended boundary of the buffer. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:

An issue was discovered in post.trm in Gnuplot 5.2.5. This issue allows an attacker to conduct a buffer overflow with an arbitrary amount of data in the PS_options function. This flaw is caused by a missing size check of an argument passed to the "set font" function. This issue occurs when the Gnuplot postscript terminal is used as a backend.

The bug was discovered 11/20/2018. The weakness was shared 11/23/2018 (Website). The advisory is shared for download at lists.debian.org. This vulnerability was named CVE-2018-19491 since 11/23/2018. The attack can be initiated remotely. No form of authentication is required for a successful exploitation. Successful exploitation requires user interaction by the victim. There are known technical details, but no exploit is available.

The vulnerability was handled as a non-public zero-day exploit for at least 3 days. During that time the estimated underground price was around $0-$5k. The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 119123 (Debian DLA-1595-1 : gnuplot5 security update), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment. It is assigned to the family Debian Local Security Checks and running in the context l. The commercial vulnerability scanner Qualys is able to test this issue with plugin 176843 (Debian Security Update for gnuplot5 (DLA 1595-1)).

Upgrading eliminates this vulnerability. A possible mitigation has been published 2 days after the disclosure of the vulnerability.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at Tenable (119123). The entries VDB-127083 and VDB-127085 are related to this item. Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Name

• Gnuplot

Version

• 5.2.5

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Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.

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