CVE-2018-17332 : Vulnerability Insights and Analysis

This CVE-2018-17332 article provides insights into a vulnerability identified in libsvg2, impacting versions until 2012-10-19, potentially leading to memory leaks due to unnecessary malloc calls.

Understanding CVE-2018-17332

The vulnerability in libsvg2 could result in memory leaks due to a specific function returning the input pointer under certain conditions.

What is CVE-2018-17332?

CVE-2018-17332 is a vulnerability in libsvg2 through 2012-10-19, where the svgGetNextPathField function in svg_string.c may cause memory leaks by returning the input pointer.

The Impact of CVE-2018-17332

The vulnerability could lead to memory leaks in affected systems due to unnecessary malloc calls, potentially affecting system performance and stability.

Technical Details of CVE-2018-17332

The technical details of the CVE-2018-17332 vulnerability are as follows:

Vulnerability Description

The function svgGetNextPathField in svg_string.c sometimes returns the input pointer, leading to memory leaks from unnecessary malloc calls.

Affected Systems and Versions

Product: Not applicable
Vendor: Not applicable
Versions affected: Until 2012-10-19

Exploitation Mechanism

The vulnerability is exploited by triggering the svgGetNextPathField function to return the input pointer, causing memory leaks through unnecessary malloc calls.

Mitigation and Prevention

To address CVE-2018-17332, consider the following mitigation strategies:

Immediate Steps to Take

Monitor security advisories for patches or updates related to libsvg2.
Implement code reviews to identify and rectify similar memory leak issues.

Long-Term Security Practices

Regularly update software libraries and components to patched versions.
Conduct thorough testing to detect and address memory leak vulnerabilities.

Patching and Updates

Apply patches or updates provided by the software vendor to fix the memory leak issue in libsvg2.