CVE-2023-52304: Stack Overflow Vulnerability in PaddlePaddle leading to Potential System Compromise

Overview

CVE-2023-52304 is a critical security flaw found in PaddlePaddle, a widely deployed deep learning platform. This vulnerability, identified as a stack overflow in the paddle.searchsorted function, affects all versions of PaddlePaddle prior to 2.6.0 and can lead to severe consequences, such as a denial of service or even system compromise. Its severity and the widespread use of the affected software make it a significant concern for cybersecurity professionals and organizations alike.

Vulnerability Summary

CVE ID: CVE-2023-52304
Severity: High (8.2 CVSS Score)
Attack Vector: Remote
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Impact: Denial of Service, Potential System Compromise, Data Leakage

Affected Products

Product | Affected Versions

PaddlePaddle | Before 2.6.0

How the Exploit Works

The vulnerability is caused due to an error in the handling of the paddle.searchsorted function in PaddlePaddle. This stack overflow error can be exploited by a remote attacker by sending a specially crafted input to the function. This can cause the system to crash, leading to a denial of service, or it can allow the attacker to execute arbitrary code, which can potentially compromise the entire system or lead to data leakage.

Conceptual Example Code

Here is a conceptual example of how the vulnerability might be exploited:

import paddle
# create a tensor with malicious values
malicious_tensor = paddle.to_tensor([float('inf'), float('nan'), float('inf'), ...])
# use paddle.searchsorted function with the malicious tensor
result = paddle.searchsorted(malicious_tensor, value)

In this example, the malicious tensor, when passed to the paddle.searchsorted function, could trigger the stack overflow, causing the system to crash or even execute arbitrary code.

Mitigation Guidance

Users are strongly advised to upgrade to PaddlePaddle version 2.6.0 or later, where this vulnerability has been fixed. If upgrading is not immediately possible, users can use a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) as a temporary mitigation to detect and prevent exploitation attempts. However, these are only stopgap measures and the system is still at risk until the software is updated. Regular patching and updates are critical to maintaining a secure system.