Description
OpenPrinting CUPS is a standards-based, open source printing system for Linux and other Unix-like operating systems. Starting in version 2.0.0 and prior to version 2.4.6, CUPS logs data of free memory to the logging service AFTER the connection has been closed, when it should have logged the data right before. This is a use-after-free bug that impacts the entire cupsd process.
The exact cause of this issue is the function `httpClose(con->http)` being called in `scheduler/client.c`. The problem is that httpClose always, provided its argument is not null, frees the pointer at the end of the call, only for cupsdLogClient to pass the pointer to httpGetHostname. This issue happens in function `cupsdAcceptClient` if LogLevel is warn or higher and in two scenarios: there is a double-lookup for the IP Address (HostNameLookups Double is set in `cupsd.conf`) which fails to resolve, or if CUPS is compiled with TCP wrappers and the connection is refused by rules from `/etc/hosts.allow` and `/etc/hosts.deny`.
Version 2.4.6 has a patch for this issue.
Understanding This Vulnerability
This Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) entry provides detailed information about a security vulnerability that has been publicly disclosed. CVEs are standardized identifiers assigned by MITRE Corporation to track and catalog security vulnerabilities across software and hardware products.
The severity rating (MEDIUM) indicates the potential impact of this vulnerability based on the CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) framework. Higher severity ratings typically indicate vulnerabilities that could lead to more significant security breaches if exploited. Security teams should prioritize remediation efforts based on severity, exploit availability, and the EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score, which predicts the likelihood of exploitation in the wild.
If this vulnerability affects products or systems in your infrastructure, we recommend reviewing the affected products section, checking for available patches or updates from vendors, and implementing recommended workarounds or solutions until a permanent fix is available. Organizations should also monitor security advisories and threat intelligence feeds for updates about active exploitation of this vulnerability.