Arch Linux: 201803-23 High Severity: Xerces-C Arbitrary Code Execution

Arch Linux Security Advisory ASA-201803-23
=========================================
Severity: High
Date    : 2018-03-25
CVE-ID  : CVE-2017-12627
Package : xerces-c
Type    : arbitrary code execution
Remote  : Yes
Link    : https://security.archlinux.org/AVG-644

Summary
======
The package xerces-c before version 3.2.1-1 is vulnerable to arbitrary
code execution.

Resolution
=========
Upgrade to 3.2.1-1.

# pacman -Syu "xerces-c>=3.2.1-1"

The problem has been fixed upstream in version 3.2.1.

Workaround
=========
None.

Description
==========
The Xerces-C XML parser mishandles certain kinds of external DTD
references, resulting in dereference of a NULL pointer while processing
the path to the DTD. The bug allows for a denial of service attack in
applications that allow DTD processing and do not prevent external DTD
usage, and could conceivably result in remote code execution.

Impact
=====
A remote attacker might be able to cause a denial of service or execute
arbitrary code by submitting a crafted XML document with an external
DTD path to an application using a vulnerable version of the xerces-c
parser.

References
=========
https://xerces.apache.org/xerces-c/secadv/CVE-2017-12627.txt
https://security.archlinux.org/CVE-2017-12627