CVE-2025-29769
Remediation / Mitigation Strategy for CVE-2025-29769
Description of Vulnerability:
A heap buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the heifsave operation of the libvips image processing library. When processing specially crafted “multiband” TIFF images with 4 channels and converting them to HEIF format, libvips incorrectly determines the presence of an alpha channel. This leads to the creation of a 3-channel HEIF image (without alpha) but an attempt to write 4 channels of data, resulting in a heap buffer overflow. This overflow can crash the process. The vulnerability arises from the incorrect handling of color interpretation (“multiband”) when processing TIFF inputs with a specific channel configuration during HEIF conversion.
Severity:
- CVSS Score: 8.5 (High) - Based on the provided data.
- Impact: The heap buffer overflow can lead to a denial of service (DoS) due to process crashing. Potentially, with further exploitation, it could lead to arbitrary code execution, though this is not explicitly stated and would require further analysis. The fact that it is a heap overflow means that it is likely exploitable, or at the least, causes memory corruption.
Known Exploit:
- While the provided data doesn’t explicitly mention a public exploit, the nature of a heap buffer overflow strongly suggests exploitability. An attacker could craft a malicious TIFF image that triggers the vulnerability when processed by a vulnerable application using libvips. The crafted image forces libvips to allocate insufficient buffer size, enabling writing beyond the bounds of the buffer and crashing the process.
Remediation/Mitigation Strategy:
Upgrade libvips: The primary remediation is to upgrade libvips to version 8.16.1 or later, where this vulnerability is fixed. This is the most effective and recommended approach.
Input Validation and Sanitization: Implement strict input validation and sanitization on any TIFF images processed by applications using libvips. Verify the image format, channel count, and other relevant metadata before processing. Reject any images that deviate from expected or safe parameters. Specifically, scrutinize TIFF images with 4 channels.
Disable HEIF Output (Workaround): As a temporary workaround, disable the
heifsaveoperation or avoid processing TIFF images withheifsaveif possible. This will prevent the specific vulnerable code path from being executed.Restrict Access: Limit access to the image processing functionality to only trusted users and applications. Reduce the attack surface by preventing untrusted sources from providing input to libvips.
Memory Protection: Enable memory protection mechanisms, such as Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR) and Data Execution Prevention (DEP), where available. These mechanisms can make exploitation more difficult, although they may not completely prevent it.
Monitoring and Logging: Implement robust monitoring and logging to detect any abnormal behavior, such as crashes or unexpected memory usage, during image processing. This can help identify and respond to potential exploitation attempts.
Assigner
- GitHub, Inc. [email protected]
Date
- Published Date: 2025-04-07 20:15:21
- Updated Date: 2025-04-07 20:15:21