A heap buffer overflow due to missing size checking in the property buffer when parsing PCF files in libXfont2 ComputeScaledProperties() before libXfont2 before 2.0.8 could be used by attackers using authenticated X clients to execute code within the X server.
Weakness
A heap overflow condition is a buffer overflow, where the buffer that can be overwritten is allocated in the heap portion of memory, generally meaning that the buffer was allocated using a routine such as malloc().
Affected Software
| Name | Vendor | Start Version | End Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| Libxfont | X | 2.0.0 (including) | 2.0.8 (excluding) |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.0 Extended Update Support | RedHat | libXfont2-0:2.0.6-5.el10_0.1 | * |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Extended Lifecycle Support | RedHat | libXfont2-0:2.0.3-2.el7_9 | * |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | RedHat | libXfont2-0:2.0.3-2.el8_10.1 | * |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Advanced Mission Critical Update Support | RedHat | libXfont2-0:2.0.3-2.el8_4.1 | * |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Extended Update Support Long-Life Add-On | RedHat | libXfont2-0:2.0.3-2.el8_4.1 | * |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Advanced Mission Critical Update Support | RedHat | libXfont2-0:2.0.3-2.el8_6.1 | * |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Extended Update Support Long-Life Add-On | RedHat | libXfont2-0:2.0.3-2.el8_6.1 | * |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Telecommunications Update Service | RedHat | libXfont2-0:2.0.3-2.el8_8.1 | * |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Update Services for SAP Solutions | RedHat | libXfont2-0:2.0.3-2.el8_8.1 | * |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.2 Update Services for SAP Solutions | RedHat | libXfont2-0:2.0.3-12.el9_2.1 | * |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.4 Update Services for SAP Solutions | RedHat | libXfont2-0:2.0.3-12.el9_4.1 | * |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.6 Extended Update Support | RedHat | libXfont2-0:2.0.3-12.el9_6.1 | * |
| Libxfont | Ubuntu | esm-infra-legacy/trusty | * |
| Libxfont | Ubuntu | esm-infra-legacy/xenial | * |
| Libxfont | Ubuntu | esm-infra/bionic | * |
| Libxfont | Ubuntu | esm-infra/focal | * |
| Libxfont | Ubuntu | jammy | * |
| Libxfont | Ubuntu | noble | * |
| Libxfont | Ubuntu | questing | * |
| Libxfont | Ubuntu | resolute | * |
Potential Mitigations
- 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.
- 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].