CVE-2023-27117
📋 TL;DR
CVE-2023-27117 is a heap overflow vulnerability in WebAssembly Binary Toolkit (wabt) version 1.0.29 that allows attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service. This affects systems using wabt for WebAssembly binary manipulation, particularly developers and applications that process untrusted WebAssembly binaries.
💻 Affected Systems
- WebAssembly Binary Toolkit (wabt)
📦 What is this software?
Webassembly by Webassembly
⚠️ 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 affecting WebAssembly processing functionality.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if proper sandboxing and input validation are implemented.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires crafting malicious WebAssembly binaries that trigger the heap overflow in wabt::Node::operator.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Version 1.0.30 and later
Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/WebAssembly/wabt/issues/1989
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Update wabt to version 1.0.30 or later using package manager. 2. For source installations: git clone/pull latest wabt repository and rebuild. 3. Recompile any applications using wabt libraries.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Input Validation
allImplement strict validation of WebAssembly binaries before processing with wabt.
Sandbox Execution
linuxRun wabt processes in isolated containers or sandboxes with limited privileges.
docker run --read-only --cap-drop=ALL -v /safe/input:/input wabt-container
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Disable wabt WebAssembly processing for untrusted sources.
- Implement network segmentation to isolate systems using wabt from critical infrastructure.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check wabt version: wabt --version or dpkg -l | grep wabtCheck Version:
wabt --versionVerify Fix Applied:
Confirm version is 1.0.30 or later and test with known malicious WebAssembly binaries.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Segmentation fault or crash logs from wabt processes
- Unusual memory allocation patterns in wabt
Network Indicators:
- Unexpected WebAssembly binary uploads to processing endpoints
SIEM Query:
process_name:"wabt" AND (event_type:"crash" OR memory_usage:"spike")