CVE-2022-49043
Public on
Last Modified:
Insights vulnerability analysis
Description
A flaw was found in libxml2 where improper handling of memory allocation failures in libxml2 can lead to crashes, memory leaks, or inconsistent states. While an attacker cannot directly control allocation failures, they may trigger denial-of-service conditions under extreme system stress.
Statement
This vulnerability marked as moderate instead of important because memory allocation failures are not typically controllable by an attacker, limiting their exploitability. While improper handling of malloc failures can lead to crashes, memory leaks, or inconsistent states, it does not directly result in privilege escalation or arbitrary code execution.
Additionally, in most real-world scenarios, failures due to memory exhaustion occur under extreme system stress rather than as part of an intentional attack vector.
Mitigation
Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options do not meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base or stability.
Additional information
- Bugzilla 2342118: libxml: use-after-free in xmlXIncludeAddNode
- CWE-416: Use After Free
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
| Red Hat | NVD | |
|---|---|---|
CVSS v3 Base Score | 5.9 | N/A |
Attack Vector | Local | N/A |
Attack Complexity | High | N/A |
Privileges Required | None | N/A |
User Interaction | None | N/A |
Scope | Changed | N/A |
Confidentiality Impact | None | N/A |
Integrity Impact | None | N/A |
Availability Impact | High | N/A |
CVSS v3 Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Integrity
Technical Impact: Modify Memory
The use of previously freed memory may corrupt valid data, if the memory area in question has been allocated and used properly elsewhere.
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart
If chunk consolidation occurs after the use of previously freed data, the process may crash when invalid data is used as chunk information.
Integrity,Confidentiality,Availability
Technical Impact: Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands
If malicious data is entered before chunk consolidation can take place, it may be possible to take advantage of a write-what-where primitive to execute arbitrary code. If the newly allocated data happens to hold a class, in C++ for example, various function pointers may be scattered within the heap data. If one of these function pointers is overwritten with an address to valid shellcode, execution of arbitrary code can be achieved.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Red Hat's CVSS v3 score or Impact different from other vendors?
My product is listed as "Under investigation" or "Affected", when will Red Hat release a fix for this vulnerability?
What can I do if my product is listed as "Will not fix"?
What can I do if my product is listed as "Fix deferred"?
What is a mitigation?
I have a Red Hat product but it is not in the above list, is it affected?
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