Description
file before 5.19 does not properly restrict the amount of data read during a regex search, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (CPU consumption) via a crafted file that triggers backtracking during processing of an awk rule. NOTE: this vulnerability exists because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2013-7345.
No summary for this CVE yet.
CVSS Vector Breakdown
Exploitability
AV:NAccess VectorNetwork
AC:LAccess ComplexityLow
Au:NAuthenticationNone
Impact
C:NConfidentialityNone
I:NIntegrityNone
A:PAvailabilityPartial
Weaknesses
Affected Products
christos zoulas
individual-devaka file 1, file
php
oss-project·USaka pear, pecl, php language
debian
oss-project·GBaka debian gnu/linux
PHP Group
oss-projectaka pear, php
and 1 more affected products View all →
Exploitability
Official Patch Available
References
https://github.com/file/file/commit/74cafd7de9ec99a14f4480927580e501c8f852c3
github.com
https://github.com/file/file/commit/71a8b6c0d758acb0f73e2e51421a711b5e9d6668
github.com
https://support.apple.com/HT204659
support.apple.com
and 22 more references View all →
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