CVE-2020-15503
📋 TL;DR
CVE-2020-15503 is an integer overflow vulnerability in LibRaw's thumbnail processing code that allows attackers to cause heap-based buffer overflows by providing specially crafted image files. This affects any application using vulnerable LibRaw versions to process RAW image formats. Attackers could potentially execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service.
💻 Affected Systems
- LibRaw
- Applications using LibRaw library
📦 What is this software?
Fedora by Fedoraproject
Fedora by Fedoraproject
Libraw by Libraw
Libraw by Libraw
Libraw by Libraw
Libraw by Libraw
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Remote code execution leading to complete system compromise when processing malicious RAW image files
Likely Case
Application crash (denial of service) when processing malformed thumbnail data
If Mitigated
Controlled application termination with proper memory protections and ASLR
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires user to process a malicious RAW image file; no public exploits known
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 0.20-RC1 and later
Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/LibRaw/LibRaw/commit/20ad21c0d87ca80217aee47533d91e633ce1864d
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Update LibRaw to version 0.20-RC1 or later. 2. Recompile any applications using LibRaw. 3. Restart affected services.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable thumbnail processing
allConfigure applications to disable thumbnail extraction from RAW files
Input validation
allImplement file size limits and validation for uploaded RAW images
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict file upload restrictions for RAW image formats
- Run applications with minimal privileges and memory protection (ASLR, DEP)
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check LibRaw version: ldd /path/to/application | grep libraw; or check package versionCheck Version:
raw-identify --version 2>/dev/null || dpkg -l libraw 2>/dev/null || rpm -q LibRaw 2>/dev/nullVerify Fix Applied:
Verify LibRaw version is 0.20-RC1 or later: raw-identify --version📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Application crashes when processing image files
- Memory access violation errors
- Segmentation faults in image processing
Network Indicators:
- Large RAW file uploads to image processing services
SIEM Query:
source="application.log" AND ("segmentation fault" OR "access violation" OR "malloc") AND ("raw" OR "cr2" OR "nef")🔗 References
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-07/msg00075.html
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-08/msg00001.html
- https://github.com/LibRaw/LibRaw/commit/20ad21c0d87ca80217aee47533d91e633ce1864d
- https://github.com/LibRaw/LibRaw/compare/0.20-Beta3...0.20-RC1
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2022/11/msg00042.html
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/7HM2DS6HA4YZREI3BYGS75M6D76WMW62/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/CSXAJKZ4VNDYVQULJNY4XDPWHIJDTB4P/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/DNGDWTO45TU4KGND75EUUEGUMNSOYC7H/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/QCVKD7PTO7UQAVUTBHJAKBKYLPQQGAMZ/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/Y34ALB34P3NGQXLF7BG7R6DGRX6XL2JN/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/YZETDVPZQWZWVGIG6JTIEKP5KPVMUE7Y/
- https://www.libraw.org/news/libraw-0-20-rc1
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-07/msg00075.html
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-08/msg00001.html
- https://github.com/LibRaw/LibRaw/commit/20ad21c0d87ca80217aee47533d91e633ce1864d
- https://github.com/LibRaw/LibRaw/compare/0.20-Beta3...0.20-RC1
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2022/11/msg00042.html
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/7HM2DS6HA4YZREI3BYGS75M6D76WMW62/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/CSXAJKZ4VNDYVQULJNY4XDPWHIJDTB4P/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/DNGDWTO45TU4KGND75EUUEGUMNSOYC7H/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/QCVKD7PTO7UQAVUTBHJAKBKYLPQQGAMZ/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/Y34ALB34P3NGQXLF7BG7R6DGRX6XL2JN/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/YZETDVPZQWZWVGIG6JTIEKP5KPVMUE7Y/
- https://www.libraw.org/news/libraw-0-20-rc1
