AbiWord Link Grammar and Link Grammar separate_sentence() buffer overflow

abiword-linkgrammar-sentence-bo (38317) The risk level is classified as HighHigh Risk

Description:

AbiWord Link Grammar and Link Grammar are vulnerable to a stack-based buffer overflow, caused by improper bounds checking by the separate_word() function. By passing a specially-crafted sentence containing overly long words to the separate_sentence() function, a remote attacker could overflow a buffer and execute arbitrary code on the system or cause the application to crash.

*CVSS:

Base Score: 7.5
  Access Vector: Network
  Access Complexity: Low
  Authentication: None
  Confidentiality Impact: Partial
  Integrity Impact: Partial
  Availability Impact: Partial
 
Temporal Score: 5.5
  Exploitability: Unproven
  Remediation Level: Official-Fix
  Report Confidence: Confirmed

Consequences:

Gain Access

Remedy:

For AbiWord Link Grammar:
Apply the patch for this vulnerability, available from the ABI SVN Repository. See References.

For other distributions:
Apply the appropriate update for your system. See References.

References:

  • ABI SVN Repository: Revision 22295: /.
  • AbiWord Link Grammar Web site: AbiWord Link Grammar.
  • Link Grammar Web site: Link Grammar.
  • Secunia Research 07/11/2007: AbiWord Link Grammar "separate_sentence()" Buffer Overflow.
  • Secunia Research 07/11/2007: Link Grammar "separate_sentence()" Buffer Overflow.
  • BID-26365: Link Grammar SEPARATE_WORD Function Remote Buffer Overflow Vulnerability
  • CVE-2007-5395: Stack-based buffer overflow in the separate_word function in tokenize.c in Link Grammar 4.1b and possibly other versions, as used in AbiWord Link Grammar 4.2.4, allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a long word, as reachable through the separate_sentence function.
  • DSA-1432: link-grammar -- buffer overflow
  • GLSA-200711-27: Link Grammar: User-assisted execution of arbitrary code
  • SA27300: Link Grammar "separate_sentence()" Buffer Overflow
  • SA27340: AbiWord Link Grammar "separate_sentence()" Buffer Overflow
  • USN-545-1: link-grammar vulnerability
  • VUPEN/ADV-2007-3770: Link Grammar separate_sentence() Function Buffer Overflow Vulnerability
  • VUPEN/ADV-2007-3771: AbiWord Link Grammar separate_sentence() Remote Buffer Overflow

Platforms Affected:

  • AbiSource AbiWord Link Grammar 4.2.4
  • Canonical Ubuntu 7.10
  • Davy Temperley, Daniel Sleator and John Lafferty Link Grammar 4.1b
  • Debian Debian Linux 4.0
  • Gentoo Linux

Reported:

Nov 07, 2007

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