CVE-2023-40889: Zbar Heap-based Buffer Overflow Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-mhp6-jvpx-2p4m
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CVSS 9.8
CWE-122 CWE-787
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2023-40889 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability (CWE-122: Heap-based Buffer Overflow) affecting Zbar libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves heap-based buffer overflow in zbar. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2023-40889 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2023-40889
GHSA Identifier GHSA-mhp6-jvpx-2p4m
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.8
CWE Classification CWE-122: Heap-based Buffer Overflow
Affected Product Zbar
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 9.8

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2023-40889

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Zbar dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

zbar fixed: Latest secure release 
pip install zbar>=Latest secure release
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

pip show zbar

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Python environment is affected by CVE-2023-40889, inspect your installed packages using pip:

pip show zbar

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Zbar in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than the patched release), your application is affected.

Note: The pip show zbar command checks currently installed packages in your active Python environment.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-122: Heap-based Buffer Overflow, where a heap overflow condition is a buffer overflow, where the buffer that can be overwritten is allocated in the heap portion of memory, generally meaning that the buffer was allocated using a routine such as malloc(). In Zbar, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

A heap-based buffer overflow exists in the qr_reader_match_centers function of ZBar 0.23.90. Specially crafted QR codes may lead to information disclosure and/or arbitrary code execution. To trigger this vulnerability, an attacker can digitally input the malicious QR code, or prepare it to be physically scanned by the vulnerable scanner.

CVE-2023-40889 Affected Zbar Versions

1 component(s)
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
zbar
pypi/zbar
PyPI
≤ 0.23.90

References

NVD — CVE-2023-40889 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-40889
Zbar Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/mchehab/zbar
hackmd.io/@cspl/b1zkfzv23 WEB
https://hackmd.io/@cspl/B1ZkFZv23
lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce... WEB
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/12/msg00001.html
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/25LZZQJGGZRPLKTRNRNOTAFQJIPS7WRP
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/DC7V5YCLCPB36J2KY6WLZCABFLBRB665

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-40889?
CVE-2023-40889 is a security vulnerability in Zbar involving Heap-based buffer overflow in ZBar under CWE-122: Heap-based Buffer Overflow.
Which Zbar versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches across affected packages: zbar.
What version fixes CVE-2023-40889?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is zbar affected?
Yes, zbar is affected in releases prior to Latest secure release. Upgrade your dependency to Latest secure release or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2023-40889?
CVE-2023-40889 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2023-40889?
CVE-2023-40889 is classified under CWE-122: Heap-based Buffer Overflow (A heap overflow condition is a buffer overflow, where the buffer that can be overwritten is allocated in the heap portion of memory, generally meaning that the buffer was allocated using a routine such as malloc().).
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2023-40889?
Run the dependency tree command: 'pip show zbar'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-mhp6-jvpx-2p4m",
  "modified" : "2023-09-01T01:19:08Z",
  "published" : "2023-08-29T18:31:53Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2023-40889" ],
  "summary" : "Heap-based buffer overflow in ZBar",
  "details" : "A heap-based buffer overflow exists in the qr_reader_match_centers function of ZBar 0.23.90. Specially crafted QR codes may lead to information disclosure and/or arbitrary code execution. To trigger this vulnerability, an attacker can digitally input the malicious QR code, or prepare it to be physically scanned by the vulnerable scanner.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "zbar"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "last_affected" : "0.23.90"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-40889"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/mchehab/zbar"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://hackmd.io/@cspl/B1ZkFZv23"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/12/msg00001.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/25LZZQJGGZRPLKTRNRNOTAFQJIPS7WRP"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/DC7V5YCLCPB36J2KY6WLZCABFLBRB665"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-122", "CWE-787" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-08-30T20:22:19Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2023-08-29T17:15:12Z"
  }
}