Executive Summary

This vulnerability is an out-of-bounds read issue in the RetroDebugger software, specifically in the `unescape()` function located in the file `src/Emulators/vice/monitor/mon_lex.c`. The vulnerable code was originally copied from GNU Aspell but did not include the security patch that fixed a similar issue in GNU Aspell (CVE-2019-17544). The vulnerability allows the program to read memory outside the intended bounds, which can lead to security risks.

Useful 0 Not Useful 0

Impact Analysis

The impact of this vulnerability is significant as indicated by its CVSS score of 9.1. It allows an attacker to perform an out-of-bounds read, which can lead to high confidentiality and availability impacts. This means sensitive information could be exposed and the affected system could become unstable or crash, potentially disrupting normal operations.

Useful 0 Not Useful 0

Compliance Impact

I don't know

Useful 0 Not Useful 0

Detection Guidance

This vulnerability is an out-of-bounds read in the `unescape()` function of RetroDebugger before version 0.64.72. Detection would involve identifying if the vulnerable version of RetroDebugger is present on your system.

You can check the installed version of RetroDebugger by running a command such as:

• retrodebugger --version

If the version is earlier than 0.64.72, the system is potentially vulnerable.

Additionally, since this is a local software vulnerability rather than a network service, network detection commands are not directly applicable.

Useful 0 Not Useful 0

Mitigation Strategies

The immediate mitigation step is to update RetroDebugger to version 0.64.72 or later, where the out-of-bounds read vulnerability in the `unescape()` function has been fixed.

If updating is not immediately possible, avoid processing untrusted input that could trigger the vulnerable `unescape()` function.

Applying the patch from the RetroDebugger pull request #97, which synchronizes the code with the fixed GNU Aspell version, will also mitigate the issue.

Useful 0 Not Useful 0