CVE Vulnerabilities

CVE-2010-3438

Use of Externally-Controlled Format String

Published: Nov 12, 2019 | Modified: Nov 15, 2019
CVSS 3.x
9.8
CRITICAL
Source:
NVD
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVSS 2.x
7.5 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
RedHat/V2
RedHat/V3
Ubuntu
MEDIUM

libpoe-component-irc-perl before v6.32 does not remove carriage returns and line feeds. This can be used to execute arbitrary IRC commands by passing an argument such as some textrQUIT to the privmsg handler, which would cause the client to disconnect from the server.

Weakness

The product uses a function that accepts a format string as an argument, but the format string originates from an external source.

Affected Software

Name Vendor Start Version End Version
Libpoe-component-irc-perl Libpoe-component-irc-perl_project * 6.32 (excluding)
Libpoe-component-irc-perl Ubuntu hardy *
Libpoe-component-irc-perl Ubuntu lucid *
Libpoe-component-irc-perl Ubuntu upstream *

Extended Description

When an attacker can modify an externally-controlled format string, this can lead to buffer overflows, denial of service, or data representation problems. It should be noted that in some circumstances, such as internationalization, the set of format strings is externally controlled by design. If the source of these format strings is trusted (e.g. only contained in library files that are only modifiable by the system administrator), then the external control might not itself pose a vulnerability.

Potential Mitigations

References