CVE-2018-14521: Aubio Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-rcv6-7hmv-fj7h
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CVSS 8.8
CWE-119
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2018-14521 is a HIGH (CVSS 8.8) remote code execution vulnerability (CWE-119: Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer) affecting Aubio libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves aubio is vulnerable to denial of service via aubio_source_avcodec_readframe function. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.4.7.

CVE-2018-14521 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2018-14521
GHSA Identifier GHSA-rcv6-7hmv-fj7h
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 8.8
CWE Classification CWE-119: Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer
Affected Product Aubio
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 8.8

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:R/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 Required (UI:R)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2018-14521

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

aubio fixed: 0.4.7 
pip install aubio>=0.4.7
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 aubio

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Python environment is affected by CVE-2018-14521, inspect your installed packages using pip:

pip show aubio

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Aubio in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.4.7), your application is affected.

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

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-119: Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer, where the product performs operations on a memory buffer, but it reads from or writes to a memory location outside the buffer's intended boundary. this may result in read or write operations on unexpected memory locations that could be linked to other variables, data structures, or internal program data. In Aubio, 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

An issue was discovered in aubio 0.4.6. A SEGV signal can occur in `aubio_source_avcodec_readframe` in `io/source_avcodec.c`, as demonstrated by aubiomfcc.

CVE-2018-14521 Affected Aubio Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
0.4.7
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
aubio
pypi/aubio
PyPI
< 0.4.7
0.4.7

References

NVD — CVE-2018-14521 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-14521
Aubio Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/aubio/aubio/issues/187
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/aubio/aubio/commit/a81b12a3b4174953b3bc7ef4c37103f4d5636740
Aubio Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/aubio/aubio
Aubio Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/aubio/PYSEC-2018-61.yaml

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2018-14521?
CVE-2018-14521 is a security vulnerability in Aubio involving Aubio is vulnerable to denial of service via aubio_source_avcodec_readframe function under CWE-119: Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer.
Which Aubio versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 0.4.7 across affected packages: aubio.
What version fixes CVE-2018-14521?
Upgrading to 0.4.7 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is aubio affected?
Yes, aubio is affected in releases prior to 0.4.7. Upgrade your dependency to 0.4.7 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2018-14521?
CVE-2018-14521 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.8 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2018-14521?
CVE-2018-14521 is classified under CWE-119: Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer (The product performs operations on a memory buffer, but it reads from or writes to a memory location outside the buffer's intended boundary. This may result in read or write operations on unexpected memory locations that could be linked to other variables, data structures, or internal program data.).
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2018-14521?
Run the dependency tree command: 'pip show aubio'. 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-rcv6-7hmv-fj7h",
  "modified" : "2024-09-06T15:29:26Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-14T02:59:32Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2018-14521" ],
  "summary" : "Aubio is vulnerable to denial of service via aubio_source_avcodec_readframe function",
  "details" : "An issue was discovered in aubio 0.4.6. A SEGV signal can occur in `aubio_source_avcodec_readframe` in `io/source_avcodec.c`, as demonstrated by aubiomfcc.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "aubio"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "0.4.7"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-14521"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/aubio/aubio/issues/187"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/aubio/aubio/commit/a81b12a3b4174953b3bc7ef4c37103f4d5636740"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/aubio/aubio"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/aubio/PYSEC-2018-61.yaml"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-119" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-08-04T21:53:09Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2018-07-23T08:29:00Z"
  }
}