CVE-2019-13220 : What You Need to Know

CVE-2019-13220 is a vulnerability in the start_decoder function in stb_vorbis through 2019-03-04, potentially leading to a denial of service or sensitive information disclosure when processing a malicious Ogg Vorbis file.

Understanding CVE-2019-13220

What is CVE-2019-13220?

The vulnerability in stb_vorbis allows an attacker to exploit uninitialized stack variables by manipulating a specially crafted Ogg Vorbis file, resulting in a denial of service or disclosure of sensitive data.

The Impact of CVE-2019-13220

The exploitation of this vulnerability can have severe consequences, including system crashes, denial of service, or unauthorized access to sensitive information.

Technical Details of CVE-2019-13220

Vulnerability Description

The issue arises from the start_decoder function in stb_vorbis, which fails to properly initialize stack variables, enabling attackers to trigger the vulnerability by using a malicious Ogg Vorbis file.

Affected Systems and Versions

Vendor: n/a
Product: n/a
Versions: All versions up to 2019-03-04 are affected.

Exploitation Mechanism

Attackers can exploit this vulnerability by enticing a user to open a specifically crafted Ogg Vorbis file, triggering the uninitialized stack variables and potentially causing a denial of service or information leakage.

Mitigation and Prevention

Immediate Steps to Take

Avoid opening Ogg Vorbis files from untrusted or unknown sources.
Implement file type validation mechanisms to detect malicious files.

Long-Term Security Practices

Regularly update software and libraries to patch known vulnerabilities.
Conduct security audits and code reviews to identify and address potential flaws.

Patching and Updates

Ensure that the stb_vorbis library is updated to the latest version to mitigate the CVE-2019-13220 vulnerability.