Vulnerability identifier: #VU21793

Vulnerability risk: Medium

CVSSv3.1: 4.8 [CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L/E:P/RL:O/RC:C]

CVE-ID: CVE-2019-17595

CWE-ID: CWE-126

Exploitation vector: Network

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
ncurses
Universal components / Libraries / Libraries used by multiple products

Vendor: Free Software Foundation

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to perform a denial of service (DoS) attack.

The vulnerability exists due to heap-based buffer over-read issue in the "fmt_entry" function in "tinfo/comp_hash.c" in the terminfo library. A remote attacker can trigger a buffer over-read condition and cause a denial of service condition on the target system.

Mitigation
Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

ncurses: 4.0 - 6.0

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External links
http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-ncurses/2019-10/msg00013.html
http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-ncurses/2019-10/msg00045.html
http://github.com/zjuchenyuan/fuzzpoc/raw/master/infotocap_poc3

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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.