An exploitable uninitialized pointer vulnerability exists in the Word document parser of the the Atlantis Word Processor. A specially crafted document can cause an array fetch to return an uninitialized pointer and then performs some arithmetic before writing a value to the result. Usage of this uninitialized pointer can allow an attacker to corrupt heap memory resulting in code execution under the context of the application. An attacker must convince a victim to open a document in order to trigger this vulnerability.
The product accesses or uses a pointer that has not been initialized.
| Name | Vendor | Start Version | End Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantis_word_processor | Atlantiswordprocessor | 3.0.2.3 (including) | 3.0.2.3 (including) |
| Atlantis_word_processor | Atlantiswordprocessor | 3.0.2.5 (including) | 3.0.2.5 (including) |
If the pointer contains an uninitialized value, then the value might not point to a valid memory location. This could cause the product to read from or write to unexpected memory locations, leading to a denial of service. If the uninitialized pointer is used as a function call, then arbitrary functions could be invoked. If an attacker can influence the portion of uninitialized memory that is contained in the pointer, this weakness could be leveraged to execute code or perform other attacks. Depending on memory layout, associated memory management behaviors, and product operation, the attacker might be able to influence the contents of the uninitialized pointer, thus gaining more fine-grained control of the memory location to be accessed.