TIFF library vulnerability

Releases

• Ubuntu 4.10

Details

A buffer overflow was discovered in the TIFF library. A TIFF file
includes a value indicating the number of “directory entry” header
fields contained in the file. If this value is -1, an invalid memory
allocation was performed. A malicious image could be constructed
which, when decoded, would have resulted in execution of arbitrary
code with the privileges of the process using the library.

Since this library is used in many applications like “ghostscript” and
the “CUPS” printing system, this vulnerability may lead to remotely
induced privilege escalation.