GLSA 201409-08: libxml2: Denial of Service

Severity:normal
Title:libxml2: Denial of Service
Date:09/19/2014
Bugs: #509834
ID:201409-08

Synopsis

A vulnerability in libxml2 allows a remote attacker to cause Denial of Service.

Background

libxml2 is the XML C parser and toolkit developed for the Gnome project.

Affected packages

Package Vulnerable Unaffected Architecture(s)
dev-libs/libxml2 < 2.9.1-r4 >= 2.9.1-r4 All supported architectures

Description

A vulnerability in the xmlParserHandlePEReference() function of parser.c, when expanding entity references, can be exploited to consume large amounts of memory and cause a crash or hang.

Impact

A remote attacker may be able to cause Denial of Service via a specially crafted XML file containing malicious attributes.

Workaround

There is no known workaround at this time.

Resolution

All libxml2 users should upgrade to the latest version:

      # emerge --sync
      # emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose ">=dev-libs/libxml2-2.9.1-r4"
    

References

Availability

This GLSA and any updates to it are available for viewing at the Gentoo Security Website: http://security.gentoo.org/glsa/glsa-201409-08.xml

Concerns?

Security is a primary focus of Gentoo Linux and ensuring the confidentiality and security of our users machines is of utmost importance to us. Any security concerns should be addressed to security@gentoo.org or alternatively, you may file a bug at https://bugs.gentoo.org.

License

Copyright 2010 Gentoo Foundation, Inc; referenced text belongs to its owner(s). The contents of this document are licensed under the Creative Commons - Attribution / Share Alike license.

Thank you!