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CVE-2015-8948: GNU libidn can leak memory to attackers

CVE-2015-8948 · published 10 years ago

Summary

The GNU libidn library may read past the end of its data when it receives an unexpected zero byte. This can let a remote attacker gather pieces of the server's memory, potentially exposing sensitive information. Updating to the latest version of the library resolves the issue.

What to do

Update alpine libidn to version 1.33-r0.

Affected software

Ecosystem	Vendor	Product	Affected versions
Alpine:v3.11	alpine	libidn	< 1.33-r0 Fix: upgrade to 1.33-r0
Alpine:v3.12	alpine	libidn	< 1.33-r0 Fix: upgrade to 1.33-r0
Alpine:v3.13	alpine	libidn	< 1.33-r0 Fix: upgrade to 1.33-r0
Alpine:v3.14	alpine	libidn	< 1.33-r0 Fix: upgrade to 1.33-r0
Alpine:v3.15	alpine	libidn	< 1.33-r0 Fix: upgrade to 1.33-r0
Alpine:v3.16	alpine	libidn	< 1.33-r0 Fix: upgrade to 1.33-r0
Alpine:v3.17	alpine	libidn	< 1.33-r0 Fix: upgrade to 1.33-r0
Alpine:v3.18	alpine	libidn	< 1.33-r0 Fix: upgrade to 1.33-r0
Alpine:v3.2	alpine	libidn	< 1.33-r0 Fix: upgrade to 1.33-r0
Alpine:v3.21	alpine	libidn	< 1.33-r0 Fix: upgrade to 1.33-r0
Alpine:v3.22	alpine	libidn	< 1.33-r0 Fix: upgrade to 1.33-r0
Alpine:v3.23	alpine	libidn	< 1.33-r0 Fix: upgrade to 1.33-r0
Alpine:v3.24	alpine	libidn	< 1.33-r0 Fix: upgrade to 1.33-r0
Alpine:v3.3	alpine	libidn	< 1.33-r0 Fix: upgrade to 1.33-r0
Alpine:v3.5	alpine	libidn	< 1.33-r0 Fix: upgrade to 1.33-r0
Alpine:v3.6	alpine	libidn	< 1.33-r0 Fix: upgrade to 1.33-r0
Alpine:v3.7	alpine	libidn	< 1.33-r0 Fix: upgrade to 1.33-r0
Alpine:v3.8	alpine	libidn	< 1.33-r0 Fix: upgrade to 1.33-r0
Alpine:v3.9	alpine	libidn	< 1.33-r0 Fix: upgrade to 1.33-r0
Alpine:v3.10	alpine	libidn	< 1.33-r0 Fix: upgrade to 1.33-r0
Alpine:v3.19	alpine	libidn	< 1.33-r0 Fix: upgrade to 1.33-r0
Alpine:v3.20	alpine	libidn	< 1.33-r0 Fix: upgrade to 1.33-r0
Alpine:v3.4	alpine	libidn	< 1.33-r0 Fix: upgrade to 1.33-r0
–	opensuse	leap	42.1 `cpe:2.3:o:opensuse:leap:42.1:::::::*`
–	opensuse	opensuse	13.2 `cpe:2.3:o:opensuse:opensuse:13.2:::::::*`
–	canonical	ubuntu_linux	12.04 14.04 16.04 `cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:12.04::::lts:::`
–	gnu	libidn	<= 1.32 `cpe:2.3:a:gnu:libidn::::::::`

Original advisory text

idn in GNU libidn before 1.33 might allow remote attackers to obtain sensitive memory information by reading a zero byte as input, which triggers an out-of-bounds read.

References

https://security.alpinelinux.org/vuln/CVE-2015-8948 Vendor Advisory
http://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/libidn.git/commit/?id=570e68886c41c2e765e6218cb... Issue Tracking Patch
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-updates/2016-08/msg00005.html Third Party Advisory
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-updates/2016-08/msg00098.html Third Party Advisory
http://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3658
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/07/20/6 Mailing List Third Party Advisory
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/07/21/4 Mailing List Third Party Advisory
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/92070 Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-3068-1 Third Party Advisory
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r58af02e294bd07f487e2c64ffc0a29b837db5600e3...
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rf4c02775860db415b4955778a131c2795223f61cb8...
https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/help-libidn/2016-07/msg00009.html Vendor Advisory

Fix within

Internet-facing 14 days

Internal 60 days

Not known to be exploited
Can be exploited automatically (estimated)
Gives an attacker partial control (estimated)

Severity

7.5 High

Exploitation

7% chance of attack within 30 days

Type

CWE-125Out-of-bounds Read

Timeline

Published7 Sep 2016

Updated3 Nov 2026

First seen27 Aug 2026

Sources

ALPINE-CVE-2015-8948 · OSV

CVE-2015-8948 · NVD

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