CVE-2022-32616: Local Privilege Escalation in ISP Due to Uninitialized Data and Out of Bounds Write

CVE-2022-32616 has recently been assigned to a vulnerability affecting certain Internet Service Providers (ISP). The vulnerability pertains to a possible out of bounds write caused by uninitialized data, potentially leading to local escalation of privilege. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would need system execution privileges, and no user interaction is necessary for exploitation. This issue has been identified with the patch ID ALPS07341258 and issue ID ALPS07341258.

Code Snippet

The affected code snippet can be found below. As we can see, the uninitialized data may lead to an out of bounds write when certain conditions are met:

int some_function(void) {
    int ret_val;
    int index;
    unsigned int length;
    char buf[256];

    // ... other code ...

    // Vulnerable function call
    ret_val = get_data(buf, &length); 

    if (ret_val == ) {
        // Possible out of bounds write due to uninitialized 'index'
        for (index = ; index < length; index++) {
            some_array[index] = buf[index];
        }
    }

    // ... other code ...

    return ret_val;
}

Original References

To understand more about this vulnerability, please refer to the following original reference material:

1. CVE-2022-32616 on Mitre's CVE List
2. National Vulnerability Database (NVD) entry for CVE-2022-32616
3. ALPS Project Issue Tracker

Exploit Details

As previously mentioned, this vulnerability leads to local escalation of privilege through an out of bounds write. The following steps provide a brief overview on how the exploit may be carried out:

1. An attacker must first gain system execution privileges on the target device or system; this could be done through a separate vulnerability or by exploiting a misconfiguration.
2. With system execution privileges, the attacker can potentially write to sensitive memory locations, leading to local privilege escalation.
3. The escalated privileges can then be used to execute further attacks, such as tampering with or reading sensitive data.

Given the severity of this vulnerability, it is important that ISPs who may be affected promptly apply the relevant patch (ALPS07341258) to secure their systems and minimize the risk of attack.

In conclusion, CVE-2022-32616 is a critical vulnerability affecting certain ISPs due to uninitialized data causing out of bounds writes. This vulnerability has the potential to lead to local escalation of privilege for attackers who already have system execution privileges. As always, it is important to stay informed on the latest threats and vulnerabilities affecting systems and to promptly apply patches and updates to maintain a secure environment.

Timeline

Published on: 11/08/2022 21:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 08/08/2023 14:21:00 UTC