CVE-2019-25478

Vulnerability

Overview

GetGo Download Manager version 6.2.2.3300 and earlier is vulnerable to a buffer overflow when processing HTTP responses with excessively long headers. The root cause is improper bounds checking while handling oversized header values, leading to an out-of-bounds write (CWE-787). This flaw is triggered when the download manager interacts with a malicious or compromised HTTP server [1][2].

Attack

Vector and Prerequisites

An attacker does not need authentication or prior access to the target system. The exploit is performed remotely by setting up a rogue HTTP server that sends a crafted response containing an HTTP status line with an abnormally long header (e.g., 6000 bytes of 'A'). When the victim's GetGo Download Manager receives such a response, it attempts to parse the header without adequate size validation, causing a buffer overflow and crashing the application [2].

Impact

Successful exploitation results in a denial of service (DoS) condition, making the download manager unavailable until it is restarted. The vulnerability does not provide code execution or data exfiltration; the primary impact is service disruption [2][3].

Mitigation and

Status

As of the latest available version, GetGo Software has not officially addressed this vulnerability in a security advisory. The changelog for version 6.2.2.3300 notes only that "some crash bugs" were fixed, but no specific mention of this buffer overflow is made [1]. Users should consider upgrading to a newer version if one becomes available, or exercise caution when downloading from untrusted HTTP sources. The vulnerability is listed in public exploit databases, increasing the risk of targeted attacks [2][3].