Executive Summary

[{'type': 'paragraph', 'content': "CVE-2026-22891 is a critical heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in The Biosig Project's libbiosig library version 3.9.2 and its master branch. It occurs in the Intan CLP file parsing functionality, specifically in the function that reads Intan CLP files."}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'The vulnerability arises because the code incorrectly calculates the pointer where it reads data from a file into a heap buffer. It reallocates the buffer to a certain size but then reads data starting past the end of this allocated buffer, causing a heap overflow.'}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'An attacker can exploit this by providing a specially crafted Intan CLP file that triggers this overflow, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution.'}] [1]

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Impact Analysis

This vulnerability can have severe impacts because it allows an attacker to execute arbitrary code on the affected system.

• An attacker can craft a malicious Intan CLP file that, when processed by libbiosig, triggers the heap-based buffer overflow.
• The overflow can overwrite adjacent heap memory, potentially allowing the attacker to control program execution flow.
• This can lead to full system compromise, data corruption, or denial of service.

Since libbiosig is used in scientific software like Octave and Matlab for biomedical signal processing, any system using these libraries to process Intan CLP files could be at risk.

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Compliance Impact

I don't know

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Detection Guidance

[{'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'This vulnerability can be detected by monitoring for attempts to process specially crafted Intan CLP files with the vulnerable libbiosig library version 3.9.2 or its master branch. Detection involves identifying files with the Intan CLP magic sequence and datatype fields that trigger the vulnerable code path.'}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'Since the vulnerability is triggered by processing malicious Intan CLP files, you can detect exploitation attempts by scanning for files starting with the magic bytes 0x81A4B1F3 and datatype values 0 or 1 in the 9th byte.'}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': "Suggested commands to detect such files on a system include using tools like 'xxd' or 'hexdump' to inspect file headers, for example:"}, {'type': 'list_item', 'content': 'hexdump -C suspicious_file | head -n 1 # Check first 4 bytes for 0x81A4B1F3'}, {'type': 'list_item', 'content': 'xxd -s 8 -l 1 suspicious_file # Check 9th byte for datatype (0 or 1)'}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'Additionally, monitoring application logs or crash reports related to libbiosig or software using it (e.g., Octave, Matlab) for heap-buffer-overflow errors or crashes during Intan CLP file processing can help detect exploitation attempts.'}] [1]

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Mitigation Strategies

Immediate mitigation steps include preventing the processing of untrusted or malicious Intan CLP files by the vulnerable libbiosig library version 3.9.2 or its master branch.

You should update libbiosig to a version where this vulnerability is fixed once available.

Until a patch is applied, restrict or disable the use of Intan CLP file parsing functionality in applications that use libbiosig, or avoid opening Intan CLP files from untrusted sources.

Additionally, monitor for suspicious activity or crashes related to Intan CLP file processing and consider applying application-level sandboxing or other containment measures to limit the impact of potential exploitation.

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