CVE-2023-42801 Explained : Impact and Mitigation

Moonlight-common-c contains the core GameStream client code shared between Moonlight clients. The vulnerability in commit f57bd745b4cbed577ea654fad4701bea4d38b44c could allow a malicious game streaming server to exploit a buffer overflow, potentially crashing a Moonlight client. While achieving Remote Code Execution (RCE) is unlikely due to modern compiler stack canaries, some unofficial clients may still be at risk. Learn more about CVE-2023-42801 and how to protect your systems.

Understanding CVE-2023-42801

In this section, we will delve into the details of the CVE-2023-42801 vulnerability, its impact, technical description, affected systems, and mitigation methods.

What is CVE-2023-42801?

CVE-2023-42801 is a vulnerability found in Moonlight-common-c that exposes systems to a stack buffer overflow due to the functionality of

strcpy

into a fixed-size buffer in

extractVersionQuadFromString

.

The Impact of CVE-2023-42801

The buffer overflow vulnerability allows a malicious game streaming server to potentially crash a Moonlight client. While achieving RCE is unlikely, some unofficial clients that do not implement stack canaries may still be at risk.

Technical Details of CVE-2023-42801

Let's explore the technical aspects of CVE-2023-42801 in more detail.

Vulnerability Description

The vulnerability arises from a buffer overflow starting in commit f57bd745b4cbed577ea654fad4701bea4d38b44c, allowing a malicious server to crash a Moonlight client.

Affected Systems and Versions

Moonlight-common-c versions >= f57bd745b4cbed577ea654fad4701bea4d38b44c and < b2497a3918a6d79808d9fd0c04734786e70d5954 are affected by this vulnerability.

Exploitation Mechanism

The buffer overflow can be exploited by tricking a client into pairing with a malicious host post the pairing process, potentially leading to system compromise.

Mitigation and Prevention

Understanding how to mitigate and prevent vulnerabilities like CVE-2023-42801 is crucial to maintaining system security.

Immediate Steps to Take

Ensure that all Moonlight clients use official binaries with stack canaries to protect against buffer overflow attacks.

Long-Term Security Practices

Regularly update clients to the latest versions to patch vulnerabilities and enhance security measures.

Patching and Updates

Check for security patches and update Moonlight clients to versions beyond b2497a3918a6d79808d9fd0c04734786e70d5954 to address the CVE-2023-42801 vulnerability.