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Gaim contains a buffer overflow vulnerability in the Extract Info Field function

Vulnerability Note VU#197142

Original Release Date: 2004-05-10 | Last Revised: 2004-05-10

Overview

There is a buffer overflow vulnerability in the gaim_markup_extract_info_field() function, which could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service or execute arbitrary code.

Description

Gaim is a multi-protocol instant messenger client available for a number of operating systems. There is a buffer overflow vulnerability in the gaim_markup_extract_info_field() function. This function is used by the Yahoo Messenger (YMSG) and MSN protocol handlers. Within this function, a buffer with a fixed size of 1024 bytes is allocated in memory. When copying data, the function fails to check the size of the data copied to the buffer. This could result in a buffer overflow.

Impact

An unauthenticated, remote attacker could cause a denial of service or potentially execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the vulnerable process.

Solution

Upgrade

Upgrade to Gaim version 0.75 or later.

Vendor Information

197142
 

Gaim Affected

Updated:  May 10, 2004

Status

Affected

Vendor Statement

We have not received a statement from the vendor.

Vendor Information

The vendor has not provided us with any further information regarding this vulnerability.

Addendum

This vulnerability has been addressed in versions 0.75 and later.

If you have feedback, comments, or additional information about this vulnerability, please send us email.


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References

Acknowledgements

This vulnerability was publicly reported by Stefan Esser of e-matters.

This document was written by Damon Morda.

Other Information

CVE IDs: CVE-2004-0007
Severity Metric: 11.81
Date Public: 2004-01-26
Date First Published: 2004-05-10
Date Last Updated: 2004-05-10 19:37 UTC
Document Revision: 12

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