CVE-2019-7148 : Security Advisory and Response

CVE-2019-7148 was published on January 29, 2019, and involves a potential issue in the read_long_names function within the libelf component of elfutils 0.174. This vulnerability could be exploited by remote attackers to trigger a denial-of-service attack through excessive memory allocation.

Understanding CVE-2019-7148

This CVE entry highlights a vulnerability in the libelf component of elfutils 0.174 that could lead to a denial-of-service attack.

What is CVE-2019-7148?

The vulnerability in the read_long_names function within the libelf component of elfutils 0.174 allows remote attackers to exploit excessive memory allocation, potentially causing a denial-of-service attack.

The Impact of CVE-2019-7148

The vulnerability could be leveraged by attackers to initiate a denial-of-service attack by manipulating specially crafted elf input, resulting in an out-of-memory exception.

Technical Details of CVE-2019-7148

This section provides technical details about the vulnerability.

Vulnerability Description

The issue involves an attempt to allocate excessive memory in the read_long_names function in elf_begin.c within the libelf component of elfutils 0.174.

Affected Systems and Versions

Product: Not applicable
Vendor: Not applicable
Version: elfutils 0.174

Exploitation Mechanism

Attackers can exploit the vulnerability by manipulating specially crafted elf input to trigger an out-of-memory exception.

Mitigation and Prevention

Protective measures to address CVE-2019-7148.

Immediate Steps to Take

Monitor for any unusual memory allocation patterns or out-of-memory exceptions.
Consider setting the ASAN_OPTIONS environment variable to "allocator_may_return_null=1" to mitigate the issue.

Long-Term Security Practices

Regularly update and patch the affected software to prevent exploitation of known vulnerabilities.

Patching and Updates

Stay informed about security updates and patches released by the software maintainers to address this vulnerability.