CVE-2012-1141: Buffer Overflow

Published Mar 6, 2012
·
Updated

An out-of heap-based buffer read flaw was found in the way FreeType font rendering engine performed conversion of ASCII string objects, contained within glyph bitmap distribution format (BDF) font file, into signed short integers. A remote attacker could provide a specially-crafted BDF file, which once processed by an application linked against FreeType would lead to that application crash.

Upstream bug report: [1] https://savannah.nongnu.org/bugs/?35658

Upstream patch: [2] http://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/freetype/freetype2.git/commit/?id=d9c1659610f9cd5e103790cb5963483d65cf0d2d

Acknowledgements:

Red Hat would like to thank Mateusz Jurczyk of the Google Security Team for reporting this issue.

Other sources

FreeType before 2.4.9, as used in Mozilla Firefox Mobile before 10.0.4 and other products, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (invalid heap read operation and memory corruption) or possibly execute arbitrary code via a crafted ASCII string in a BDF font.

Affected Software

62 affected components
FreeType<=2.4.8
FreeType=1.3.1
FreeType=2.0.0
FreeType=2.0.1
FreeType=2.0.2
FreeType=2.0.3
FreeType=2.0.4
FreeType=2.0.5
FreeType=2.0.6
FreeType=2.0.7
FreeType=2.0.8
FreeType=2.0.9
FreeType=2.1
FreeType=2.1.3
FreeType=2.1.4
FreeType=2.1.5
FreeType=2.1.6
FreeType=2.1.7
FreeType=2.1.8
FreeType=2.1.8-rc1
FreeType=2.1.9
FreeType=2.1.10
FreeType=2.2.0
FreeType=2.2.1
FreeType=2.3.0
FreeType=2.3.1
FreeType=2.3.2
FreeType=2.3.3
FreeType=2.3.4
FreeType=2.3.5
FreeType=2.3.6
FreeType=2.3.7
FreeType=2.3.8
FreeType=2.3.9
FreeType=2.3.10
FreeType=2.3.11
FreeType=2.3.12
FreeType=2.4.0
FreeType=2.4.1
FreeType=2.4.2
FreeType=2.4.3
FreeType=2.4.4
FreeType=2.4.5
FreeType=2.4.6
FreeType=2.4.7
Mozilla Firefox Mobile<=10.0.3
Mozilla Firefox Mobile=1.0
Mozilla Firefox Mobile=4.0
Mozilla Firefox Mobile=4.0-beta1
Mozilla Firefox Mobile=4.0-beta2
Mozilla Firefox Mobile=4.0-beta3
Mozilla Firefox Mobile=4.0-beta4
Mozilla Firefox Mobile=5.0
Mozilla Firefox Mobile=6.0
Mozilla Firefox Mobile=6.0.1
Mozilla Firefox Mobile=6.0.2
Mozilla Firefox Mobile=7.0
Mozilla Firefox Mobile=8.0
Mozilla Firefox Mobile=9.0
Mozilla Firefox Mobile=10.0
Mozilla Firefox Mobile=10.0.1
Mozilla Firefox Mobile=10.0.2

Event History

Mar 6, 2012
Data Sourced
06:57 PM
DescriptionSeverityAffected Software
Apr 25, 2012
CVE Published
via MITRE·10:00 AM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·10:00 AM
Description
Free Weekly Intel

Don't miss critical vulnerabilities

Join thousands of security professionals who receive our weekly digest of trending CVEs, zero-days, and exploited vulnerabilities.

No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the severity of CVE-2012-1141?

CVE-2012-1141 is considered to have a medium severity due to the potential for remote code execution through crafted BDF files.

2

How do I fix CVE-2012-1141?

To fix CVE-2012-1141, update FreeType to version 2.4.9 or later, which addresses the vulnerability.

3

Which versions of FreeType are affected by CVE-2012-1141?

Versions of FreeType before 2.4.9 and including 1.3.1 to 2.4.7 are affected by CVE-2012-1141.

4

Can CVE-2012-1141 be exploited remotely?

Yes, CVE-2012-1141 can be exploited remotely if a user opens a maliciously crafted BDF file.

5

What kind of attacks can CVE-2012-1141 facilitate?

CVE-2012-1141 can facilitate attacks leading to buffer overflow, which may result in arbitrary code execution.

Contact

SecAlerts Pty Ltd.
132 Wickham Terrace
Fortitude Valley,
QLD 4006, Australia
info@secalerts.co
By using SecAlerts services, you agree to our services end-user license agreement. This website is safeguarded by reCAPTCHA and governed by the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. All names, logos, and brands of products are owned by their respective owners, and any usage of these names, logos, and brands for identification purposes only does not imply endorsement. If you possess any content that requires removal, please get in touch with us.
© 2026 SecAlerts Pty Ltd.
ABN: 70 645 966 203, ACN: 645 966 203