CVE-2018-19801

Vulnerability

Description

CVE-2018-19801 is a NULL pointer dereference vulnerability found in the aubio audio analysis library, affecting versions 0.4.0 through 0.4.8. The flaw resides in the new_aubio_filterbank function, which is used for spectral filtering operations such as MFCC computation [1]. When an invalid value is provided for the n_filters parameter, the function attempts to dereference a NULL pointer, causing a segmentation fault [2].

Exploitation

Scenario

An attacker can trigger this vulnerability by supplying a crafted audio file or parameter set that includes an invalid n_filters value to any application using the vulnerable aubio library [3]. No authentication is required, and the attack can be performed remotely if the application processes untrusted audio input. The low attack complexity makes it accessible to unskilled adversaries.

Impact

The primary impact is a denial of service (DoS) condition, as the NULL pointer dereference causes the application to crash. The vulnerability does not allow arbitrary code execution or privilege escalation. Systems relying on aubio for audio analysis, such as media players or music production software, are at risk of disruption.

Mitigation

The aubio project addressed this issue in version 0.4.9, released shortly after the disclosure [4]. Users are strongly advised to upgrade to at least version 0.4.9 or later. No workarounds are available for earlier versions. The vulnerability has also been flagged in security advisories, including an OpenSUSE security announcement [2].