CVE-2022-1437
📋 TL;DR
CVE-2022-1437 is a heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in radare2 reverse engineering framework versions prior to 5.7.0. This allows attackers to read sensitive information from adjacent memory locations or cause denial of service through program crashes. Users of radare2 for binary analysis, security research, or reverse engineering are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- radare2
📦 What is this software?
Radare2 by Radare
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Information disclosure of sensitive memory contents including credentials, cryptographic keys, or other process data; potential remote code execution if combined with other vulnerabilities.
Likely Case
Program crash leading to denial of service; potential information leakage from adjacent memory buffers.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper input validation and memory protections; crash without data compromise.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires feeding specially crafted input to radare2; public proof-of-concept exists in the huntr.dev bounty report.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 5.7.0 and later
Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/radareorg/radare2/commit/669a404b6d98d5db409a5ebadae4e94b34ef5136
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Update radare2 to version 5.7.0 or later using your package manager. 2. For source installations: git clone https://github.com/radareorg/radare2 && cd radare2 && sys/install.sh. 3. Verify installation with r2 -v.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Input validation wrapper
linuxCreate a wrapper script that validates inputs before passing to radare2
#!/bin/bash
# Validate input file exists and is regular file
if [ ! -f "$1" ]; then
echo "Invalid input file"
exit 1
fi
# Run radare2 with limited permissions
r2 "$1"
Memory protection hardening
linuxEnable ASLR and other memory protections at OS level
echo 2 > /proc/sys/kernel/randomize_va_space
sysctl -w kernel.exec-shield=1
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Restrict radare2 usage to trusted, validated binaries only
- Run radare2 in isolated containers or VMs with limited network access
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Run 'r2 -v' and check if version is below 5.7.0Check Version:
r2 -v | grep -o '\d\.\d\.\d'Verify Fix Applied:
Confirm version is 5.7.0 or higher with 'r2 -v' and test with known vulnerable inputs📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Segmentation fault or crash logs from radare2 processes
- Abnormal memory access patterns in system logs
Network Indicators:
- Unusual outbound connections from radare2 processes (though typically local tool)
SIEM Query:
process_name:"r2" AND (event_type:"crash" OR memory_violation:true)