CVE-2020-29385 : What You Need to Know

GNOME gdk-pixbuf (aka GdkPixbuf) before 2.42.2 allows a denial of service (infinite loop) due to a vulnerability in the lzw.c function. An attacker can trigger this issue by crafting a GIF image with LZW compression in a specific way.

Understanding CVE-2020-29385

This CVE involves a denial of service vulnerability in GNOME gdk-pixbuf before version 2.42.2.

What is CVE-2020-29385?

CVE-2020-29385 is a vulnerability in GNOME gdk-pixbuf that allows an attacker to cause a denial of service by triggering an infinite loop in the lzw.c function.

The Impact of CVE-2020-29385

The vulnerability can be exploited by an attacker to create a specially crafted GIF image with LZW compression, leading to an infinite loop and denial of service.

Technical Details of CVE-2020-29385

This section provides more technical insights into the CVE.

Vulnerability Description

The vulnerability in GNOME gdk-pixbuf before 2.42.2 allows an attacker to trigger an infinite loop in the lzw.c function, resulting in a denial of service.

Affected Systems and Versions

Affected Version: GNOME gdk-pixbuf before 2.42.2

Exploitation Mechanism

The vulnerability can be exploited by crafting a GIF image with LZW compression in a specific way, causing the loop to run infinitely.

Mitigation and Prevention

Protect your systems from CVE-2020-29385 with these mitigation strategies.

Immediate Steps to Take

Update GNOME gdk-pixbuf to version 2.42.2 or later.
Avoid opening or processing untrusted GIF images.

Long-Term Security Practices

Regularly update software and libraries to patch known vulnerabilities.
Implement content validation mechanisms to detect and block malicious image files.

Patching and Updates

Apply patches provided by GNOME to fix the vulnerability in gdk-pixbuf.