libxml2: Remotely exploitable buffer overflow

Background

libxml2 is an XML parsing library written in C.

Description

Multiple buffer overflows have been detected in the nanoftp and nanohttp modules. These modules are responsible for parsing URLs with ftp information, and resolving names via DNS.

Impact

An attacker could exploit an application that uses libxml2 by forcing it to parse a specially-crafted XML file, potentially causing remote execution of arbitrary code.

Workaround

There is no known workaround at this time.

Resolution

All libxml2 users should upgrade to the latest version:

 # emerge --sync
 # emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose ">=dev-libs/libxml2-2.6.15"