libxslt: Execution of arbitrary code

Background

Libxslt is the XSLT C library developed for the GNOME project. XSLT itself is an XML language to define transformations for XML.

Description

Anthony de Almeida Lopes reported a vulnerability in libxslt when handling XSL style-sheet files, which could be exploited to trigger the use of uninitialized memory, e.g. in a call to “free()”.

Impact

A remote attacker could entice a user or automated system to process an XML file using a specially crafted XSL transformation file, possibly resulting in the execution of arbitrary code or a Denial of Service.

Workaround

There is no known workaround at this time.

Resolution

All libxslt users should upgrade to the latest version:

 # emerge --sync
 # emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose ">=dev-libs/libxslt-1.1.24"