CVE-2022-30292 – CVE-2022-30292 is a critical heap-based buffer ... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2022-30292?

CVE-2022-30292 has a CVSS score of 10.0 (CRITICAL). CVE-2022-30292 is a critical heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in SQUIRREL 3.2's sqbaselib.cpp due to missing sq_reservestack calls. This allows attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service by triggering memory corruption. Any application using vulnerable SQUIRREL versions is affected.

📋 TL;DR

CVE-2022-30292 is a critical heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in SQUIRREL 3.2's sqbaselib.cpp due to missing sq_reservestack calls. This allows attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service by triggering memory corruption. Any application using vulnerable SQUIRREL versions is affected.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

SQUIRREL programming language
Applications embedding SQUIRREL

Versions: SQUIRREL 3.2 and potentially earlier versions

Operating Systems: All platforms running SQUIRREL (Linux, Windows, macOS, etc.)

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Vulnerability exists in core library; all applications using SQUIRREL are vulnerable unless specifically patched.

📦 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 or denial of service, with potential for limited code execution in targeted attacks.

🟢

If Mitigated

Contained application crash without privilege escalation if proper sandboxing and memory protections are enabled.

🌐 Internet-Facing: HIGH - Exploitable remotely if vulnerable application accepts external input.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Requires attacker access to internal systems or malicious internal user.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ⚠️ Yes

Weaponized: LIKELY

Unauthenticated Exploit: ⚠️ Yes

Complexity: MEDIUM

Proof-of-concept available on GitHub; exploitation requires triggering the vulnerable code path with crafted input.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Fixed in commit a6413aa690e0bdfef648c68693349a7b878fe60d and later

Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/albertodemichelis/squirrel/commit/a6413aa690e0bdfef648c68693349a7b878fe60d

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Update SQUIRREL to latest version from official repository. 2. Recompile applications using SQUIRREL. 3. Restart affected services.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Input Validation

all

Implement strict input validation and sanitization for all SQUIRREL script inputs

Memory Protection

linux

Enable ASLR, DEP, and other memory protection mechanisms

sudo sysctl -w kernel.randomize_va_space=2

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Network segmentation to isolate vulnerable systems
Implement application allowlisting to prevent unauthorized code execution

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check if application uses SQUIRREL 3.2 or earlier; examine dependencies for vulnerable versions.

Check Version:

Check application documentation or build configuration for SQUIRREL version

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify SQUIRREL version is updated beyond commit a6413aa690e0bdfef648c68693349a7b878fe60d.

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Application crashes with memory access violations
Unusual process termination patterns

Network Indicators:

Unexpected network connections from SQUIRREL processes
Anomalous traffic to/from affected applications

SIEM Query:

process_name:"squirrel" AND (event_type:"crash" OR memory_violation:"true")

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2022-30292

CVSS v3 Score: 10.0 (CRITICAL)

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

CWE: CWE-787

Published: May 4, 2022

Last Updated: November 21, 2024

🔗 References

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