CVE-2021-29464: exiv2 Heap-based Buffer Overflow

Vulnerability summary

CVE-2021-29464 is a high (CVSS 7.8) Heap-based Buffer Overflow vulnerability in exiv2. EPSS estimates a 1.50% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 73.8% of scored vulnerabilities.

Timeline

1. 30-04-2021
   PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
2. 03-08-2024
   Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.

Description

Exiv2 is a command-line utility and C++ library for reading, writing, deleting, and modifying the metadata of image files. A heap buffer overflow was found in Exiv2 versions v0.27.3 and earlier. The heap overflow is triggered when Exiv2 is used to write metadata into a crafted image file. An attacker could potentially exploit the vulnerability to gain code execution, if they can trick the victim into running Exiv2 on a crafted image file. Note that this bug is only triggered when writing the metadata, which is a less frequently used Exiv2 operation than reading the metadata. For example, to trigger the bug in the Exiv2 command-line application, you need to add an extra command-line argument such as `insert`. The bug is fixed in version v0.27.4.

• CWE-122Heap-based Buffer OverflowA heap overflow condition is a buffer overflow, where the buffer that can be overwritten is allocated in the heap portion of memory, generally meaning that the buffer was allocated using a routine such as malloc().
• CWE-787Out-of-bounds WriteThe product writes data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer.