CVE-2012-2871: Buffer Overflow
A heap-buffer overflow flaw was found in libxslt, a C library which allows to transform XML files into other XML files (or HTML, text, ...) using the standard XSLT stylesheet transformation mechanism. It was found that when applying templates to nodes selected by "namespace::", a out-of-bounds read is performed. Later, this value is used during unlinking of nodes, leading to a WRITE error in xmlUnlinkNode().
Reference: https://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=138673
Upstream patch: http://git.gnome.org/browse/libxslt/commit/?id=937ba2a3eb42d288f53c8adc211bd1122869f0bf
Other sources
libxml2 2.9.0-rc1 and earlier, as used in Google Chrome before 21.0.1180.89, does not properly support a cast of an unspecified variable during handling of XSL transforms, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service or possibly have unknown other impact via a crafted document, related to the xmlNs data structure in include/libxml/tree.h.
Affected Software
Remediation
Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.
- Upgrade
Upgrade
Google Chrometo a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 21.0.1180.89
Event History
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the severity of CVE-2012-2871?
CVE-2012-2871 has a medium severity rating, as it may lead to denial of service or other unknown impacts.
How do I fix CVE-2012-2871?
To fix CVE-2012-2871, update Google Chrome to version 21.0.1180.89 or later, and ensure that your version of libxml2 is 2.9.0 or newer.
Which software versions are affected by CVE-2012-2871?
CVE-2012-2871 affects Apple iPhone OS versions up to 6.1.4 and Google Chrome versions up to 21.0.1180.88.
What types of attacks may exploit CVE-2012-2871?
CVE-2012-2871 may be exploited through crafted documents that manipulate XSL transforms, leading to denial of service.
Is CVE-2012-2871 still a concern today?
CVE-2012-2871 is less of a concern today as it primarily affects outdated software versions that should no longer be in use.