CVE-2018-10536 – This vulnerability in WavPack 5.1.0 and earlier... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2018-10536?

CVE-2018-10536 has a CVSS score of 7.8 (HIGH). This vulnerability in WavPack 5.1.0 and earlier allows attackers to write to arbitrary memory locations due to improper handling of multiple format chunks in WAV files. Attackers can exploit this by crafting malicious WAV files that trigger memory corruption. Any application or system using vulnerable WavPack versions to parse WAV files is affected.

📋 TL;DR

This vulnerability in WavPack 5.1.0 and earlier allows attackers to write to arbitrary memory locations due to improper handling of multiple format chunks in WAV files. Attackers can exploit this by crafting malicious WAV files that trigger memory corruption. Any application or system using vulnerable WavPack versions to parse WAV files is affected.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

WavPack
Applications using WavPack library

Versions: 5.1.0 and earlier

Operating Systems: Linux, Windows, macOS, BSD

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Any application that uses WavPack to parse WAV files is vulnerable. This includes media players, audio editors, and file processing utilities.

📦 What is this software?

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Remote code execution leading to complete system compromise, data theft, or ransomware deployment.

🟠

Likely Case

Application crash (denial of service) or limited memory corruption allowing information disclosure.

🟢

If Mitigated

Application crash with no data loss if proper sandboxing and memory protections are in place.

🌐 Internet-Facing: MEDIUM - Requires user interaction to open malicious files, but web applications processing uploaded audio could be vulnerable.

🏢 Internal Only: LOW - Typically requires local file access or user interaction with malicious files.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ⚠️ Yes

Weaponized: LIKELY

Unauthenticated Exploit: ⚠️ Yes

Complexity: LOW

Exploitation requires the victim to process a malicious WAV file. Proof-of-concept code exists in public repositories.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: 5.1.1 and later

Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/dbry/WavPack/commit/26cb47f99d481ad9b93eeff80d26e6b63bbd7e15

Restart Required: No

Instructions:

1. Update WavPack to version 5.1.1 or later. 2. Recompile any applications using WavPack library. 3. Replace vulnerable library files with patched versions.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable WAV file processing

all

Configure applications to reject WAV files or use alternative audio formats.

Application-specific configuration required

File type validation

all

Implement strict file validation to reject malformed WAV files before processing.

Implement file signature validation in application code

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Implement application sandboxing to limit impact of memory corruption
Use mandatory access controls (SELinux/AppArmor) to restrict file access

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check WavPack version: wavpack --version or examine library files. Versions 5.1.0 and earlier are vulnerable.

Check Version:

wavpack --version 2>/dev/null || strings /usr/lib*/libwavpack*.so* | grep -i version

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify WavPack version is 5.1.1 or later. Test with known malicious WAV files to ensure proper rejection.

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Application crashes when processing WAV files
Memory access violation errors
Unexpected process termination

Network Indicators:

Unusual WAV file uploads to web applications
Multiple format chunks in WAV file headers

SIEM Query:

process_name:"wavpack" AND (event_type:"crash" OR event_type:"memory_violation")

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2018-10536

CVSS v3 Score: 7.8 (HIGH)

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CWE: CWE-787

Published: April 29, 2018

Last Updated: November 21, 2024

🔗 References

http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/155743/Slackware-Security-Advisory-wavpack-Updates.html
https://github.com/dbry/WavPack/commit/26cb47f99d481ad9b93eeff80d26e6b63bbd7e15 Patch,Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/dbry/WavPack/issues/30 Issue Tracking,Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/dbry/WavPack/issues/31 Issue Tracking,Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/dbry/WavPack/issues/32 Issue Tracking,Third Party Advisory
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/6CFFFWIWALGQPKINRDW3PRGRD5LOLGZA/
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/BRWQNE3TH5UF64IKHKKHVCHJHUOVKJUH/
https://seclists.org/bugtraq/2019/Dec/37
https://usn.ubuntu.com/3637-1/ Third Party Advisory
https://www.debian.org/security/2018/dsa-4197 Third Party Advisory
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/155743/Slackware-Security-Advisory-wavpack-Updates.html
https://github.com/dbry/WavPack/commit/26cb47f99d481ad9b93eeff80d26e6b63bbd7e15 Patch,Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/dbry/WavPack/issues/30 Issue Tracking,Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/dbry/WavPack/issues/31 Issue Tracking,Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/dbry/WavPack/issues/32 Issue Tracking,Third Party Advisory
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/6CFFFWIWALGQPKINRDW3PRGRD5LOLGZA/
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/BRWQNE3TH5UF64IKHKKHVCHJHUOVKJUH/
https://seclists.org/bugtraq/2019/Dec/37
https://usn.ubuntu.com/3637-1/ Third Party Advisory
https://www.debian.org/security/2018/dsa-4197 Third Party Advisory

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