CVE-2020-27828 – CVE-2020-27828 is an arbitrary out-of-bounds wr... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2020-27828?

CVE-2020-27828 has a CVSS score of 7.8 (HIGH). CVE-2020-27828 is an arbitrary out-of-bounds write vulnerability in the jpc encoder component of the Jasper image processing library. Attackers can exploit this flaw by providing crafted input to cause memory corruption, potentially leading to remote code execution, data manipulation, or application crashes. This affects any application or system using vulnerable versions of the Jasper library for JPEG-2000 image processing.

📋 TL;DR

CVE-2020-27828 is an arbitrary out-of-bounds write vulnerability in the jpc encoder component of the Jasper image processing library. Attackers can exploit this flaw by providing crafted input to cause memory corruption, potentially leading to remote code execution, data manipulation, or application crashes. This affects any application or system using vulnerable versions of the Jasper library for JPEG-2000 image processing.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Jasper library
Applications using Jasper for JPEG-2000 processing

Versions: All versions prior to 2.0.23

Operating Systems: Linux, Unix-like systems, Any OS running vulnerable Jasper

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Any application that uses Jasper's jpc encoder to process JPEG-2000 images from untrusted sources is vulnerable. This includes web applications, image processing tools, and document viewers.

📦 What is this software?

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Remote code execution with full system compromise, allowing attackers to execute arbitrary code, steal sensitive data, or install persistent malware.

🟠

Likely Case

Application crash leading to denial of service, or limited data corruption affecting image processing functionality.

🟢

If Mitigated

Application crash with no data loss if proper sandboxing and privilege separation are implemented.

🌐 Internet-Facing: HIGH - Any internet-facing service processing JPEG-2000 images from untrusted sources is vulnerable to remote exploitation.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Internal systems processing images from potentially untrusted sources remain vulnerable, though attack surface is reduced.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ⚠️ Yes

Weaponized: LIKELY

Unauthenticated Exploit: ⚠️ Yes

Complexity: MEDIUM

Proof-of-concept code exists in public bug reports. The vulnerability requires crafted JPEG-2000 images but doesn't require authentication. Exploitation requires understanding of memory corruption techniques.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: 2.0.23

Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/jasper-software/jasper/releases/tag/version-2.0.23

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Identify systems using Jasper library. 2. Update Jasper to version 2.0.23 or later. 3. For Linux distributions: Use package manager (apt/yum/dnf) to update jasper package. 4. For source installations: Download and compile from official repository. 5. Restart affected applications/services.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable JPEG-2000 processing

all

Configure applications to disable JPEG-2000 image processing if not required

# Application-specific configuration required

Input validation and filtering

all

Implement strict input validation for image uploads, rejecting JPEG-2000 files from untrusted sources

# Use file type validation in web applications
# Example: reject .jp2, .j2k, .jpc files

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Implement network segmentation to isolate vulnerable systems from untrusted networks
Deploy application sandboxing or containerization to limit potential damage from exploitation

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check Jasper version: `jasper --version` or check package version in package manager. Versions < 2.0.23 are vulnerable.

Check Version:

jasper --version 2>&1 | head -1

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify Jasper version is 2.0.23 or later: `jasper --version | grep -q '2.0.23' && echo 'Patched'`

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Application crashes with segmentation faults
Memory corruption errors in application logs
Unexpected process termination of image processing services

Network Indicators:

Unusual JPEG-2000 file uploads to web applications
Multiple failed image processing attempts

SIEM Query:

source="application.logs" AND ("segmentation fault" OR "memory corruption" OR "jasper") AND process="*jasper*"

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2020-27828

CVSS v3 Score: 7.8 (HIGH)

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CWE: CWE-20

Published: December 11, 2020

Last Updated: November 21, 2024

🔗 References

📤 Share & Export

📄 Export Markdown 📋 Export JSON

🔗 Related Vulnerabilities

If you're affected by CVE-2020-27828, you might also want to check these: