PCRE Regular Expression Compilation Stack Buffer Overflow Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
Vulnerability Details
This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on vulnerable installations of PCRE. User interaction is required to exploit this vulnerability in that the target must visit a malicious page or open a malicious file.
The specific flaw exists within the compilation of regular expressions. The issue lies in the failure to validate that compilation of sub-groups will occur within the bounds of a fixed-size stack buffer. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code within the context of the current process.
Additional Details
PCRE has issued an update to correct this vulnerability. More details can be found at:
https://bugs.exim.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1791
Disclosure Timeline
- 2016-02-09 - Vulnerability reported to vendor
- 2016-08-17 - Coordinated public release of advisory
Credit
Wei Lei
Peng Haoxiang and Liu Yang of Nanyang Technological University
