Denial of service in ncurses

Published: 2018-11-17 | Updated: 2023-10-25

Risk	Low
Patch available	YES
Number of vulnerabilities	2
CVE-ID	CVE-2018-19217 CVE-2018-19211
CWE-ID	CWE-476
Exploitation vector	Network
Public exploit	Public exploit code for vulnerability #1 is available. Public exploit code for vulnerability #2 is available.
Vulnerable software	ncurses Universal components / Libraries / Libraries used by multiple products
Vendor	Free Software Foundation

Security Bulletin

This security bulletin contains information about 2 vulnerabilities.

1) Null pointer dereference

EUVDB-ID: #VU15934

Risk: Low

CVSSv4.0: 5.5 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P/U:Clear]

CVE-ID: CVE-2018-19217

CWE-ID: CWE-476 - NULL Pointer Dereference

Exploit availability: No

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to cause DoS condition on the target system.

The vulnerability exists due to NULL pointer dereference condition in the _nc_name_match function when handling maliciou input. A remote attacker can trick the victim into opening a specially crafted file that submits malicious input, trigger a NULL pointer dereference condition and cause the service to crash.

Mitigation

Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

ncurses: All versions

CPE2.3

cpe:2.3:a:free_software_foundation:ncurses:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

External links

https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1643753

Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote non-authenticated attacker via the Internet.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability. However, proof of concept for this vulnerability is available.

2) Null pointer dereference

EUVDB-ID: #VU15935