Integer Overflow in radare2

Executive Summary

This vulnerability is a signed integer overflow in the radare2 project's string handling functions, specifically in r_str_ndup and r_str_append within the file libr/util/str.c. The issue arises because the code used an int type for string length calculations, which can overflow when processing large strings. This overflow can lead to memory corruption and potentially cause the program to crash.

The vulnerability requires local access to exploit and has been publicly disclosed. The fix involves changing the length variables from int to size_t (an unsigned type) to prevent overflow, improving memory reallocation handling, and ensuring proper cleanup if memory allocation fails.

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Impact Analysis

Exploiting this vulnerability can lead to memory corruption and program crashes in radare2 when handling large strings. Since the attack requires local access, an attacker with limited privileges could cause denial of service by crashing the application or potentially exploit the memory corruption for further attacks.

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Detection Guidance

This vulnerability affects the radareorg radare2 software up to version 6.1.6, specifically in the r_str_ndup/r_str_append functions. Detection involves identifying if this vulnerable version of radare2 is installed on your system.

You can check the installed version of radare2 by running the following command in your terminal:

• radare2 -v

If the version is 6.1.6 or earlier, your system is potentially vulnerable. Since the exploit requires local access and involves integer overflow in string handling functions, monitoring for unusual crashes or memory corruption in radare2 usage logs may also help detect exploitation attempts.

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Mitigation Strategies

The recommended immediate mitigation is to apply the patch identified by commit a20a56917ae85d732e683f8d9078bdcfee92446c, which fixes the integer overflow by changing the length variables from int to size_t and improving memory handling.

If patching is not immediately possible, consider restricting local access to radare2 to trusted users only, as the attack requires local access.

Regularly update radare2 to the latest version beyond 6.1.6 where this vulnerability is fixed.

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Compliance Impact

The provided information does not include any details about the impact of this vulnerability on compliance with common standards and regulations such as GDPR or HIPAA.

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