Buffer overflow in Haxx Libcurl

CVE-2017-1000254

libcurl may read outside of a heap allocated buffer when doing FTP. When libcurl connects to an FTP server and successfully logs in (anonymous or not), it asks the server for the current directory with the `PWD` command. The server then responds with a 257 response containing the path, inside double quotes. The returned path name is then kept by libcurl for subsequent uses. Due to a flaw in the string parser for this directory name, a directory name passed like this but without a closing double quote would lead to libcurl not adding a trailing NUL byte to the buffer holding the name. When libcurl would then later access the string, it could read beyond the allocated heap buffer and crash or wrongly access data beyond the buffer, thinking it was part of the path. A malicious server could abuse this fact and effectively prevent libcurl-based clients to work with it - the PWD command is always issued on new FTP connections and the mistake has a high chance of causing a segfault. The simple fact that this has issue remained undiscovered for this long could suggest that malformed PWD responses are rare in benign servers. We are not aware of any exploit of this flaw. This bug was introduced in commit [415d2e7cb7](https://github.com/curl/curl/commit/415d2e7cb7), March 2005. In libcurl version 7.56.0, the parser always zero terminates the string but also rejects it if not terminated properly with a final double quote.

Vulnerability class: Buffer Overflow

EPSS: 0.085 (94.6th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 7.5 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

Affected products

  • Haxx Libcurl — versions 7.7, 7.7.1, 7.7.2
  • N/a — versions n/a

Weakness classification (CWE)

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2017-1000254?
CVE-2017-1000254 is a high-severity vulnerability in Haxx Libcurl, classified under Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer. CVSS score: 7.5/10. Published 2017-10-06.
How severe is CVE-2017-1000254?
High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.5 out of 10.
Is CVE-2017-1000254 known to be exploited?
2 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.