CVE Vulnerabilities

CVE-2018-5205

Use of Externally-Controlled Format String

Published: Jan 06, 2018 | Modified: Mar 12, 2019
CVSS 3.x
7.5
HIGH
Source:
NVD
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
CVSS 2.x
5 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N
RedHat/V2
RedHat/V3
5.5 MODERATE
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Ubuntu
MEDIUM

When using incomplete escape codes, Irssi before 1.0.6 may access data beyond the end of the string.

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
Irssi Irssi * 1.0.6 (excluding)
Irssi Ubuntu artful *
Irssi Ubuntu devel *
Irssi Ubuntu trusty *
Irssi Ubuntu xenial *
Irssi Ubuntu zesty *

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