CVE-2019-7664 : Exploit Details and Defense Strategies

CVE-2019-7664 was published on February 9, 2019, and affects elfutils version 0.175. The vulnerability arises from a negative-sized memcpy in the elf_cvt_note function, leading to a denial of service through a segmentation fault.

Understanding CVE-2019-7664

This CVE entry describes a vulnerability in elfutils version 0.175 that can be exploited to cause a denial of service by crashing the program.

What is CVE-2019-7664?

The issue in elfutils version 0.175 is caused by an incorrect check for overflow in the elf_cvt_note function, resulting in a negative-sized memcpy. By providing specially crafted elf input, an attacker can trigger a segmentation fault, leading to a denial of service.

The Impact of CVE-2019-7664

The vulnerability can be exploited to crash the program, causing a denial of service condition. This could potentially disrupt critical operations or services relying on elfutils.

Technical Details of CVE-2019-7664

This section provides more technical insights into the vulnerability.

Vulnerability Description

The issue occurs in the function elf_cvt_note located in the file libelf/note_xlate.h due to an incorrect check for overflow, leading to a negative-sized memcpy.

Affected Systems and Versions

Product: Not applicable
Vendor: Not applicable
Version: 0.175 (affected)

Exploitation Mechanism

Attackers can exploit the vulnerability by providing specially crafted elf input to trigger a segmentation fault, resulting in a denial of service.

Mitigation and Prevention

Protecting systems from CVE-2019-7664 requires immediate actions and long-term security practices.

Immediate Steps to Take

Apply patches or updates provided by the vendor to address the vulnerability.
Monitor for any unusual system behavior that could indicate exploitation of the vulnerability.

Long-Term Security Practices

Regularly update software and libraries to ensure the latest security patches are in place.
Implement strong input validation mechanisms to prevent malformed inputs.

Patching and Updates

Check for security advisories from the vendor and apply patches promptly to mitigate the risk of exploitation.