CVE-2022-2879 : Exploit Details and Defense Strategies

A detailed analysis of CVE-2022-2879 focusing on unbounded memory consumption when reading headers in archive/tar.

Understanding CVE-2022-2879

In this section, we will delve into the specifics of CVE-2022-2879.

What is CVE-2022-2879?

CVE-2022-2879 involves unbounded memory consumption in the Go standard library package

archive/tar

. The vulnerability could allow a maliciously crafted archive to cause excessive memory allocation, leading to resource exhaustion or panics.

The Impact of CVE-2022-2879

The impact of this vulnerability lies in the potential for resource exhaustion or system instability due to uncontrolled memory allocation when reading headers in

archive/tar

.

Technical Details of CVE-2022-2879

Let's explore the technical aspects of CVE-2022-2879.

Vulnerability Description

The issue arises from

Reader.Read

failing to set a limit on file header sizes, allowing an attacker to exploit this behavior by creating large headers to trigger unbounded memory consumption.

Affected Systems and Versions

The Go standard library's

archive/tar

package versions prior to 1.18.7 and 1.19.2 are affected by this vulnerability. Specific program routines like

Reader.next

,

parsePAX

,

Writer.writePAXHeader

,

Reader.Next

, and

Writer.WriteHeader

are impacted.

Exploitation Mechanism

By crafting a specially designed archive with oversized headers, an attacker can trigger the unbounded memory consumption within the

archive/tar

package, leading to resource exhaustion.

Mitigation and Prevention

To mitigate the risks associated with CVE-2022-2879, follow the recommendations below.

Immediate Steps to Take

Update to Go

archive/tar

package version 1.18.7 or 1.19.2 to ensure the vulnerability is patched. Verify the integrity of archives before processing them to prevent exploitation.

Long-Term Security Practices

Implement secure coding practices to validate input data sizes and enforce strict limits on resource allocation to prevent similar vulnerabilities in the future.

Patching and Updates

Stay informed about security advisories related to Go packages and libraries. Regularly update dependencies to the latest secure versions to address known vulnerabilities.