CVE Vulnerabilities

CVE-2019-15679

Out-of-bounds Write

Published: Oct 29, 2019 | Modified: Dec 09, 2020
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

TightVNC code version 1.3.10 contains heap buffer overflow in InitialiseRFBConnection function, which can potentially result code execution. This attack appear to be exploitable via network connectivity.

Weakness

The product writes data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer.

Affected Software

Name Vendor Start Version End Version
Tightvnc Tightvnc 1.3.10 (including) 1.3.10 (including)
Libvncserver Ubuntu trusty *
Ssvnc Ubuntu bionic *
Ssvnc Ubuntu disco *
Ssvnc Ubuntu eoan *
Ssvnc Ubuntu groovy *
Ssvnc Ubuntu hirsute *
Ssvnc Ubuntu impish *
Ssvnc Ubuntu kinetic *
Ssvnc Ubuntu lunar *
Ssvnc Ubuntu mantic *
Ssvnc Ubuntu trusty *
Ssvnc Ubuntu xenial *
Tightvnc Ubuntu bionic *
Tightvnc Ubuntu disco *
Tightvnc Ubuntu eoan *
Tightvnc Ubuntu groovy *
Tightvnc Ubuntu hirsute *
Tightvnc Ubuntu impish *
Tightvnc Ubuntu kinetic *
Tightvnc Ubuntu lunar *
Tightvnc Ubuntu mantic *
Tightvnc Ubuntu trusty *
Tightvnc Ubuntu trusty/esm *
Tightvnc Ubuntu xenial *
Veyon Ubuntu disco *
Veyon Ubuntu eoan *
Veyon Ubuntu groovy *
Veyon Ubuntu hirsute *
Veyon Ubuntu impish *
Veyon Ubuntu kinetic *
Veyon Ubuntu lunar *
Veyon Ubuntu mantic *
Veyon Ubuntu trusty *
Vncsnapshot Ubuntu bionic *
Vncsnapshot Ubuntu disco *
Vncsnapshot Ubuntu eoan *
Vncsnapshot Ubuntu groovy *
Vncsnapshot Ubuntu hirsute *
Vncsnapshot Ubuntu impish *
Vncsnapshot Ubuntu kinetic *
Vncsnapshot Ubuntu lunar *
Vncsnapshot Ubuntu mantic *
Vncsnapshot Ubuntu trusty *
Vncsnapshot Ubuntu xenial *
X11vnc Ubuntu bionic *
X11vnc Ubuntu disco *
X11vnc Ubuntu eoan *
X11vnc Ubuntu groovy *
X11vnc Ubuntu hirsute *
X11vnc Ubuntu impish *
X11vnc Ubuntu kinetic *
X11vnc Ubuntu lunar *
X11vnc Ubuntu mantic *
X11vnc Ubuntu trusty *
X11vnc Ubuntu trusty/esm *
X11vnc Ubuntu xenial *
X2vnc Ubuntu bionic *
X2vnc Ubuntu disco *
X2vnc Ubuntu eoan *
X2vnc Ubuntu groovy *
X2vnc Ubuntu hirsute *
X2vnc Ubuntu impish *
X2vnc Ubuntu kinetic *
X2vnc Ubuntu lunar *
X2vnc Ubuntu mantic *
X2vnc Ubuntu trusty *
X2vnc Ubuntu xenial *

Potential Mitigations

  • Use a language that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.

  • For example, many languages that perform their own memory management, such as Java and Perl, are not subject to buffer overflows. Other languages, such as Ada and C#, typically provide overflow protection, but the protection can be disabled by the programmer.

  • Be wary that a language’s interface to native code may still be subject to overflows, even if the language itself is theoretically safe.

  • Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.

  • Examples include the Safe C String Library (SafeStr) by Messier and Viega [REF-57], and the Strsafe.h library from Microsoft [REF-56]. These libraries provide safer versions of overflow-prone string-handling functions.

  • Use automatic buffer overflow detection mechanisms that are offered by certain compilers or compiler extensions. Examples include: the Microsoft Visual Studio /GS flag, Fedora/Red Hat FORTIFY_SOURCE GCC flag, StackGuard, and ProPolice, which provide various mechanisms including canary-based detection and range/index checking.

  • D3-SFCV (Stack Frame Canary Validation) from D3FEND [REF-1334] discusses canary-based detection in detail.

  • Consider adhering to the following rules when allocating and managing an application’s memory:

  • Run or compile the software using features or extensions that randomly arrange the positions of a program’s executable and libraries in memory. Because this makes the addresses unpredictable, it can prevent an attacker from reliably jumping to exploitable code.

  • Examples include Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR) [REF-58] [REF-60] and Position-Independent Executables (PIE) [REF-64]. Imported modules may be similarly realigned if their default memory addresses conflict with other modules, in a process known as “rebasing” (for Windows) and “prelinking” (for Linux) [REF-1332] using randomly generated addresses. ASLR for libraries cannot be used in conjunction with prelink since it would require relocating the libraries at run-time, defeating the whole purpose of prelinking.

  • For more information on these techniques see D3-SAOR (Segment Address Offset Randomization) from D3FEND [REF-1335].

  • Use a CPU and operating system that offers Data Execution Protection (using hardware NX or XD bits) or the equivalent techniques that simulate this feature in software, such as PaX [REF-60] [REF-61]. These techniques ensure that any instruction executed is exclusively at a memory address that is part of the code segment.

  • For more information on these techniques see D3-PSEP (Process Segment Execution Prevention) from D3FEND [REF-1336].

References