Buffer overflow in Zyantific Zydis

CVE-2021-41253

Zydis is an x86/x86-64 disassembler library. Users of Zydis versions v3.2.0 and older that use the string functions provided in `zycore` in order to append untrusted user data to the formatter buffer within their custom formatter hooks can run into heap buffer overflows. Older versions of Zydis failed to properly initialize the string object within the formatter buffer, forgetting to initialize a few fields, leaving their value to chance. This could then in turn cause zycore functions like `ZyanStringAppend` to make incorrect calculations for the new target size, resulting in heap memory corruption. This does not affect the regular uncustomized Zydis formatter, because Zydis internally doesn't use the string functions in zycore that act upon these fields. However, because the zycore string functions are the intended way to work with the formatter buffer for users of the library that wish to extend the formatter, we still consider this to be a vulnerability in Zydis. This bug is patched starting in version 3.2.1. As a workaround, users may refrain from using zycore string functions in their formatter hooks until updating to a patched version.

Vulnerability class: Buffer Overflow

EPSS: 0.018 (76.3th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 5.9 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2021-41253?
CVE-2021-41253 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Zyantific Zydis, classified under Heap-based Buffer Overflow. CVSS score: 5.9/10. Published 2021-11-08.
How severe is CVE-2021-41253?
Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 5.9 out of 10.