These vulnerabilities were discovered by Marcin Noga of Cisco Talos.
Today, Cisco Talos is disclosing a vulnerability in the WindowsCodecs.dll component of the Windows operating system.
WindowsCodecs.dll is a component library that exists in the implementation of Windows Imaging Component (WIC), which provides a framework for working with images and their data. WIC makes it possible for independent software vendors (ISVs) and independent hardware vendors (IHVs) to develop their own image codecs and get the same platform support as standard image formats (ex. TIFF, JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP and HDPhoto).
Vulnerability Details
TALOS-2018-0644 - Microsoft WindowsCodecs.dll SniffAndConvertToWideString Information Leak Vulnerability
TALOS-2018-0644 (CVE-2018-8506) is an exploitable memory leak vulnerability that exists in the SniffAndConvertToWideString function of WindowsCodecs.dll, version 10.0.17134.1. A specially crafted JPEG file can cause the library to return uninitialized memory, resulting in a memory leak. An attacker can send or share a malformed JPEG file to trigger this vulnerability.
This vulnerability is present in the WindowsCodecs DLL library — an implementation of Windows Imaging Component (WIC) —that provides an extensible framework for working with images and image metadata.
An attacker can leak heap memory due to the improper sting null termination after calling `IWICImagingFactory::CreateDecoderFromFilename` on a JPEG file with properly malformed metadata.
Additional details can be found here.
Additional details can be found here.
Affected versions
The vulnerability is confirmed in the WindowsCodecs.dll, version 10.0.17134.1, but it may also be present in the earlier versions of the product. Users are advised to apply the latest Windows update.
Discussion
WIC enables developers to perform image processing operations on any image format through a single, consistent set of common interfaces, without requiring prior knowledge of specific image formats and it provides an extensive architecture for image codecs, pixel formats, and metadata with automatic run-time discovery of new formats.
It's recommended that developers use operating system components, such as Windows Imaging Component, that are updated frequently so they do not have to apply any specific updates to their own products.
Memory leak vulnerabilities are dangerous and could cause the instability in the system, as the program does not properly free the allocated memory and the memory blocks remain marked as being in use. Vulnerable applications continue to waste memory over time, eventually consuming all RAM resources, which can lead to abnormal system behavior. Developers should be aware of these vulnerabilities' potentially damaging consequences.
Coverage
The following SNORTⓇ rules detect attempts to exploit these vulnerabilities. Please note that additional rules may be released at a future date and current rules are subject to change pending additional vulnerability information. For all current rule information, please refer to your Firepower Management Center or Snort.org.
Snort Rules: 47430 - 47433
