Vulnerabilities
Misconfiguration
Compliance
CVE Vulnerabilities

CVE-2010-0205

Uncontrolled Resource Consumption

Published: Mar 03, 2010 | Modified: Apr 11, 2025
CVSS 3.x
N/A
Source:
NVD
CVSS 2.x
4.3 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P
RedHat/V2
4.3 MODERATE
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P
RedHat/V3
Ubuntu
MEDIUM
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Additional information
NVDhttps://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2010-0205
CWEhttps://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/400.html

The png_decompress_chunk function in pngrutil.c in libpng 1.0.x before 1.0.53, 1.2.x before 1.2.43, and 1.4.x before 1.4.1 does not properly handle compressed ancillary-chunk data that has a disproportionately large uncompressed representation, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory and CPU consumption, and application hang) via a crafted PNG file, as demonstrated by use of the deflate compression method on data composed of many occurrences of the same character, related to a decompression bomb attack.

Weakness

The product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource.

Affected Software

NameVendorStart VersionEnd Version
LibpngLibpng1.0.0 (including)1.0.53 (excluding)
LibpngLibpng1.2.0 (including)1.2.43 (excluding)
LibpngLibpng1.4.0 (including)1.4.1 (excluding)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3RedHatlibpng-2:1.2.2-30*
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3RedHatlibpng10-0:1.0.13-21*
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4RedHatlibpng-2:1.2.7-3.el4_8.3*
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4RedHatlibpng10-0:1.0.16-3.el4_8.4*
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5RedHatlibpng-2:1.2.10-7.1.el5_5.3*
FirefoxUbuntudapper*
FirefoxUbuntuhardy*
LibpngUbuntudapper*
LibpngUbuntudevel*
LibpngUbuntuhardy*
LibpngUbuntuintrepid*
LibpngUbuntujaunty*
LibpngUbuntukarmic*
LibpngUbuntuupstream*

Potential Mitigations

  • Mitigation of resource exhaustion attacks requires that the target system either:

  • The first of these solutions is an issue in itself though, since it may allow attackers to prevent the use of the system by a particular valid user. If the attacker impersonates the valid user, they may be able to prevent the user from accessing the server in question.

  • The second solution is simply difficult to effectively institute – and even when properly done, it does not provide a full solution. It simply makes the attack require more resources on the part of the attacker.

References

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