ZDI-10-006: RealNetworks RealPlayer GIF Handling Remote Code Execution Vulnerability http://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-10-006 January 21, 2010 -- CVE ID: CVE-2009-4242 -- Affected Vendors: RealNetworks -- Affected Products: RealNetworks RealPlayer -- TippingPoint(TM) IPS Customer Protection: TippingPoint IPS customers have been protected against this vulnerability by Digital Vaccine protection filter ID 0. For further product information on the TippingPoint IPS, visit: http://www.tippingpoint.com -- Vulnerability Details: This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute code on vulnerable installations of RealNetworks RealPlayer. User interaction is required in that a user must open a malicious file or visit a malicious web site. The specific flaw exists during the parsing of GIF files with forged chunk sizes. The player uses values from the file improperly when allocating a buffer on the heap. An attacker can abuse this to create and then overflow heap buffers leading to arbitrary code execution in the context of the currently logged in user. -- Vendor Response: RealNetworks has issued an update to correct this vulnerability. More details can be found at: http://service.real.com/realplayer/security/01192010_player/en/ -- Disclosure Timeline: 2007-12-11 - Vulnerability reported to vendor 2010-01-21 - Coordinated public release of advisory -- Credit: This vulnerability was discovered by: * Anonymous -- About the Zero Day Initiative (ZDI): Established by TippingPoint, The Zero Day Initiative (ZDI) represents a best-of-breed model for rewarding security researchers for responsibly disclosing discovered vulnerabilities. Researchers interested in getting paid for their security research through the ZDI can find more information and sign-up at: http://www.zerodayinitiative.com The ZDI is unique in how the acquired vulnerability information is used. TippingPoint does not re-sell the vulnerability details or any exploit code. Instead, upon notifying the affected product vendor, TippingPoint provides its customers with zero day protection through its intrusion prevention technology. Explicit details regarding the specifics of the vulnerability are not exposed to any parties until an official vendor patch is publicly available. Furthermore, with the altruistic aim of helping to secure a broader user base, TippingPoint provides this vulnerability information confidentially to security vendors (including competitors) who have a vulnerability protection or mitigation product. Our vulnerability disclosure policy is available online at: http://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/disclosure_policy/