CVE-2020-14409
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service via a specially crafted BMP image file. It affects applications using SDL (Simple DirectMedia Layer) for image processing, particularly games and multimedia applications.
💻 Affected Systems
- SDL (Simple DirectMedia Layer)
- Applications using SDL for image processing
📦 What is this software?
Fedora by Fedoraproject
Starwind Virtual San by Starwindsoftware
Starwind Virtual San by Starwindsoftware
Starwind Virtual San by Starwindsoftware
Starwind Virtual San by Starwindsoftware
Starwind Virtual San by Starwindsoftware
Starwind Virtual San by Starwindsoftware
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Remote code execution leading to complete system compromise
Likely Case
Application crash or denial of service
If Mitigated
No impact if BMP file processing is disabled or patched
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires user to open a malicious BMP file; proof-of-concept available in bug reports
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: SDL 2.0.13 and later
Vendor Advisory: https://bugzilla.libsdl.org/show_bug.cgi?id=5200
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Update SDL to version 2.0.13 or later. 2. Rebuild applications using SDL. 3. Restart affected applications.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable BMP file processing
allModify applications to avoid using SDL's BMP loading functions
Input validation
allImplement strict validation of BMP file headers before processing
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Restrict user access to untrusted BMP files
- Run applications with minimal privileges to limit impact
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check SDL version: if version ≤ 2.0.12, system is vulnerableCheck Version:
sdl2-config --version (Linux/macOS) or check SDL_version.hVerify Fix Applied:
Verify SDL version is ≥ 2.0.13📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Application crashes when processing BMP files
- Memory corruption errors in application logs
Network Indicators:
- Unusual BMP file downloads to systems running SDL applications
SIEM Query:
Application:SDL AND (EventID:1000 OR EventID:1001) AND Process:*.exe🔗 References
- https://bugzilla.libsdl.org/show_bug.cgi?id=5200
- https://hg.libsdl.org/SDL/rev/3f9b4e92c1d9
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2021/01/msg00024.html
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/02/msg00008.html
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/5FS32YCEJLQ2FYUWSWYI2ZMQWQEAWJNR/
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202107-55
- https://www.starwindsoftware.com/security/sw-20210325-0001/
- https://bugzilla.libsdl.org/show_bug.cgi?id=5200
- https://hg.libsdl.org/SDL/rev/3f9b4e92c1d9
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2021/01/msg00024.html
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/02/msg00008.html
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/5FS32YCEJLQ2FYUWSWYI2ZMQWQEAWJNR/
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202107-55
- https://www.starwindsoftware.com/security/sw-20210325-0001/
