CVE-2022-44370
📋 TL;DR
CVE-2022-44370 is a heap buffer overflow vulnerability in NASM (Netwide Assembler) v2.16 that allows attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service. The vulnerability affects systems using NASM to process malicious assembly files. Users and developers who compile assembly code with vulnerable NASM versions are at risk.
💻 Affected Systems
- NASM (Netwide Assembler)
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Remote code execution leading to complete system compromise if NASM processes attacker-controlled input.
Likely Case
Application crash (denial of service) when processing specially crafted assembly files.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if NASM only processes trusted assembly files from secure sources.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires feeding malicious input to NASM, typically through assembly files. No public exploit code has been identified.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: NASM 2.16.01 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://bugzilla.nasm.us/show_bug.cgi?id=3392815
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Download latest NASM from https://www.nasm.us/ 2. Compile and install following official instructions 3. Verify installation with 'nasm -v' shows 2.16.01 or higher
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Avoid processing untrusted assembly files
allOnly use NASM with trusted assembly source files from verified sources
Use alternative assembler
allTemporarily switch to YASM or other assemblers until NASM is patched
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Restrict NASM usage to trusted users only
- Implement file integrity monitoring on assembly source files
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Run 'nasm -v' and check if output contains '2.16' (without .01 or higher)Check Version:
nasm -vVerify Fix Applied:
Run 'nasm -v' and confirm version is 2.16.01 or higher📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- NASM process crashes with segmentation faults
- Unexpected termination of build processes using NASM
Network Indicators:
- None - this is a local vulnerability
SIEM Query:
Process name contains 'nasm' AND (Exit code = 139 OR Signal = SIGSEGV)