CVE-2022-25147
Description
A flaw was found in the Apache Portable Runtime Utility (APR-util) library. This issue may allow a malicious attacker to cause an out-of-bounds write due to an integer overflow when encoding/decoding a very long string using the base64 family of functions.
Statement
The Apache Portable Runtime Utility (APR-util) library contains additional utility interfaces for APR (Apache Portable Runtime). This vulnerability is related to the incorrect usage of the base64 encoding/decoding family of functions through APR-util API. Usage of these functions with long enough string would cause integer overflow and will lead to out-of-bound write.
This flaw was rated with an important severity for a moment as Red Hat received information that this vulnerability potentially can allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service to the application linked to the APR-util library. Deep analysis confirmed that there are no known conditions that could lead to DoS. Additionally the APR-util API should not be exposed to the untrusted uploads and usage.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert: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).
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 6.5 | 6.5 | N/A |
| Attack Vector | Network | Network | N/A |
| Attack Complexity | Low | Low | N/A |
| Privileges Required | None | None | N/A |
| User Interaction | None | None | N/A |
| Scope | Unchanged | Unchanged | N/A |
| Confidentiality | None | None | N/A |
| Integrity Impact | Low | Low | N/A |
| Availability Impact | Low | Low | N/A |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L
NVD: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L
Red Hat CVSS v3 Score Explanation
This vulnerability does not have direct impact on the Confidentiality of the data as it's related to the out-of-bound write weakness in the base64 encoding/decoding function. Hence the Confidentiality (C) metric is set to None. A potential attacker by uploading a long enough string and causing integer overflow in the base64 encoding/decoding function, that leads to an out-of-bound write, may impact data integrity of the software that uses vulnerable apr-util API, but the attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification, hence the Integrity metric is Low. Due to the nature of this vulnerability the attacker also does not have the ability to completely deny service and any control of the consequence of successful exploitation. Hence the Availability metric value is Low.
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart; DoS: Resource Consumption (Memory); DoS: Instability
This weakness can generally lead to undefined behavior and therefore crashes. When the calculated result is used for resource allocation, this weakness can cause too many (or too few) resources to be allocated, possibly enabling crashes if the product requests more resources than can be provided.
Integrity
Technical Impact: Modify Memory
If the value in question is important to data (as opposed to flow), simple data corruption has occurred. Also, if the overflow/wraparound results in other conditions such as buffer overflows, further memory corruption may occur.
Confidentiality,Availability,Access Control
Technical Impact: Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands; Bypass Protection Mechanism
This weakness can sometimes trigger buffer overflows, which can be used to execute arbitrary code. This is usually outside the scope of the product's implicit security policy.
Availability,Other
Technical Impact: Alter Execution Logic; DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart; DoS: Resource Consumption (CPU)
If the overflow/wraparound occurs in a loop index variable, this could cause the loop to terminate at the wrong time - too early, too late, or not at all (i.e., infinite loops). With too many iterations, some loops could consume too many resources such as memory, file handles, etc., possibly leading to a crash or other DoS.
Access Control
Technical Impact: Bypass Protection Mechanism
If integer values are used in security-critical decisions, such as calculating quotas or allocation limits, integer overflows can be used to cause an incorrect security decision.
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