Problem Description

Multiple programming errors have been found in gzip which can be triggered when gzip is decompressing files. These errors include insufficient bounds checks in buffer use, a NULL pointer dereference, and a potential infinite loop.

Impact

The insufficient bounds checks in buffer use can cause gzip to crash, and may permit the execution of arbitrary code. The NULL pointer deference can cause gzip to crash. The infinite loop can cause a Denial-of-Service situation where gzip uses all available CPU time.

Workaround

No workaround is available.

>= 6.1 lt 6.1_7

>= 6.0 lt 6.0_12

>= 5.5 lt 5.5_5

>= 5.4 lt 5.4_19

>= 5.3 lt 5.3_34

< 4.11_22

< 1.3.12

RedHat reports:

An arbitrary file write vulnerability was found in GNU gzip's zgrep utility. When zgrep is applied on the attacker's chosen file name (for example, a crafted file name), this can overwrite an attacker's content to an arbitrary attacker-selected file. This flaw occurs due to insufficient validation when processing filenames with two or more newlines where selected content and the target file names are embedded in crafted multi-line file names. This flaw allows a remote, low privileged attacker to force zgrep to write arbitrary files on the system.

< 1.12