Buffer overflow vulnerability in GIMP (Oracle November 2011)

Original Release Date: December 21, 2011
Last Revised: December 21, 2011
Number: ASA-2011-427
Risk Level: Low
Advisory Version: 1.0
Advisory Status: Final

1. Overview:

New Critical Patch Updates or Security Alerts have been issued by Oracle regarding vulnerabilities in GIMP.

The LZW decompressor in the LWZReadByte function in giftoppm.c in the David Koblas GIF decoder in PBMPLUS, as used in the gif_read_lzw function in filter/image-gif.c in CUPS before 1.4.7, the LZWReadByte function in plug-ins/common/file-gif-load.c in GIMP 2.6.11 and earlier, the LZWReadByte function in img/gifread.c in XPCE in SWI-Prolog 5.10.4 and earlier, and other products, does not properly handle code words that are absent from the decompression table when encountered, which allows remote attackers to trigger an infinite loop or a heap-based buffer overflow, and possibly execute arbitrary code, via a crafted compressed stream. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CVE-2011-2896 to this issue.

Additional information about these issues may be found on the Oracle Sun Product Security Blog website.

2. Avaya System Products using a Solaris Operating System with affected packages installed:

Some Avaya system products are delivered with a Solaris Operating System. Actions to be taken on these products are described below.

Product: Affected Version(s): Risk Level: Actions:
Avaya IR 4.0 Low This issue will not be addressed as GIMP is not used by IR.

Recommended Actions:
Avaya strongly recommends that customers follow networking and security best practices by implementing firewalls, ACLs, physical security or other appropriate access restrictions. Though Avaya believes such restrictions should always be in place, risk to Avaya products and the surrounding network from this potential vulnerability may be mitigated by ensuring these practices are implemented until such time as an Avaya provided product update or the recommended Avaya action is applied. Further restrictions as deemed necessary based on the customer's security policies may be required during this interim period, but customers should not modify the System Product operating system or application unless the change is approved by Avaya. Making changes that are not approved may void the Avaya product service contract.

Mitigating Factors:

When determining risk, Avaya takes into account many factors as outlined by Avaya's Security Vulnerability Classification Policy. The following table describes factors that mitigate the risk of specific vulnerabilities for affected Avaya products:

Vulnerability Mitigating Factors
CVE-2011-2896 This is a low risk as the package is installed but not used by IR for any functionality.

3. Additional Information:

Additional information may also be available via the Avaya support website and through your Avaya account representative. Please contact your Avaya product support representative, or dial 1-800-242-2121, with any questions.

4. Disclaimer:

ALL INFORMATION IS BELIEVED TO BE CORRECT AT THE TIME OF PUBLICATION AND IS PROVIDED "AS IS". AVAYA INC., ON BEHALF ITSELF AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES AND AFFILIATES (HEREINAFTER COLLECTIVELY REFERRED TO AS "AVAYA"), DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND FURTHERMORE, AVAYA MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES THAT THE STEPS RECOMMENDED WILL ELIMINATE SECURITY OR VIRUS THREATS TO CUSTOMERS' SYSTEMS. IN NO EVENT SHALL AVAYA BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE INFORMATION OR RECOMMENDED ACTIONS PROVIDED HEREIN, INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, STATUTORY, CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS OR SPECIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF AVAYA HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

THE INFORMATION PROVIDED HERE DOES NOT AFFECT THE SUPPORT AGREEMENTS IN PLACE FOR AVAYA PRODUCTS. SUPPORT FOR AVAYA PRODUCTS CONTINUES TO BE EXECUTED AS PER EXISTING AGREEMENTS WITH AVAYA.

5. Revision History:

V 1.0 - December 21, 2011 - Initial Statement issued.

Send information regarding any discovered security problems with Avaya products to either the contact noted in the product's documentation or securityalerts@avaya.com.

© 2011 Avaya Inc. All Rights Reserved. All trademarks identifying Avaya products by the ® or ™ are registered trademarks or trademarks, respectively, of Avaya Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.