CVE-2009-2688: Buffer Overflow
Multiple integer overflows in glyphs-eimage.c in XEmacs 21.4.22, when running on Windows, allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) or execute arbitrary code via (1) the tiffinstantiate function processing a crafted TIFF file, (2) the pnginstantiate function processing a crafted PNG file, and (3) the jpeginstantiate function processing a crafted JPEG file, all which trigger a heap-based buffer overflow. NOTE: the provenance of this information is unknown; the details are obtained solely from third party information.
Other sources
Tielei Wang has discovered [1] some vulnerabilities in XEmacs, which can be exploited by malicious people to potentially compromise a user's system.
1) An integer overflow error within the "tiffinstantiate()" function in glyphs-eimage.c can be exploited to cause a heap-based buffer overflow via a specially crafted TIFF file.
2) An integer overflow error within the "pnginstantiate()" function in glyphs-eimage.c can be exploited to cause a heap-based buffer overflow via a specially crafted PNG file.
3) An integer overflow error within the "jpeginstantiate()" function in glyphs-eimage.c can be exploited to cause a heap-based buffer overflow via a specially crafted JPEG file.
Successful exploitation of the vulnerabilities may allow execution of arbitrary code.
Gentoo [2] reported this upstream [3], and while upstream's bug is not public, the notes in the Gentoo BZ indicate upstream does not really consider this a security bug. Gentoo's BZ also indicates this issue does not exist in emacs.
[1] http://secunia.com/advisories/35348/ [2] http://bugs.gentoo.org/showbug.cgi?id=275397 [3] http://tracker.xemacs.org/XEmacs/its/issue534
Patches taken from Gentoo will be attached to this bug (found in their portage tree; taken from upstream).
— Red Hat
Affected Software
Event History
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the severity of CVE-2009-2688?
CVE-2009-2688 is considered to have a high severity due to its potential for denial of service and arbitrary code execution.
How do I fix CVE-2009-2688?
To fix CVE-2009-2688, upgrade to a version of XEmacs that includes the necessary patches to address the integer overflow vulnerabilities.
Which versions of XEmacs are affected by CVE-2009-2688?
CVE-2009-2688 specifically affects XEmacs version 21.4.22 when running on Windows.
What are the potential consequences of CVE-2009-2688?
Exploiting CVE-2009-2688 can lead to application crashes or allow remote attackers to run arbitrary code on the affected system.
What types of files can trigger CVE-2009-2688?
CVE-2009-2688 can be triggered by processing specially crafted TIFF and PNG files.