Python 2.7.14 is vulnerable to a Heap-Buffer-Overflow as well as a Heap-Use-After-Free. Python versions prior to 2.7.14 may also be vulnerable and it appears that Python 2.7.17 and prior may also be vulnerable however this has not been confirmed. The vulnerability lies when multiply threads are handling large amounts of data. In both cases there is essentially a race condition that occurs. For the Heap-Buffer-Overflow, Thread 2 is creating the size for a buffer, but Thread1 is already writing to the buffer without knowing how much to write. So when a large amount of data is being processed, it is very easy to cause memory corruption using a Heap-Buffer-Overflow. As for the Use-After-Free, Thread3->Malloc->Thread1->Frees->Thread2-Re-uses-Freed Memory. The PSRT has stated that this is not a security vulnerability due to the fact that the attacker must be able to run code, however in some situations, such as function as a service, this vulnerability can potentially be used by an attacker to violate a trust boundary, as such the DWF feels this issue deserves a CVE.
Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code.
| Name | Vendor | Start Version | End Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| Python | Python | * | 2.7.14 (including) |
| Python2.7 | Ubuntu | artful | * |
| Python2.7 | Ubuntu | trusty | * |
| Python2.7 | Ubuntu | xenial | * |
The use of previously-freed memory can have any number of adverse consequences, ranging from the corruption of valid data to the execution of arbitrary code, depending on the instantiation and timing of the flaw. The simplest way data corruption may occur involves the system’s reuse of the freed memory. Use-after-free errors have two common and sometimes overlapping causes:
In this scenario, the memory in question is allocated to another pointer validly at some point after it has been freed. The original pointer to the freed memory is used again and points to somewhere within the new allocation. As the data is changed, it corrupts the validly used memory; this induces undefined behavior in the process. If the newly allocated data happens to hold a class, in C++ for example, various function pointers may be scattered within the heap data. If one of these function pointers is overwritten with an address to valid shellcode, execution of arbitrary code can be achieved.