ubuntu-cve-2020-37239
Vulnerability from osv_ubuntu
Published
2026-05-16 16:16
Modified
2026-05-16 16:16
Summary
Details

libbabl 0.1.62 contains a broken double free detection vulnerability that allows attackers to bypass memory safety checks by exploiting signature overwriting in freed chunks. Attackers can call babl_free() twice on the same pointer without triggering detection, as libc's malloc metadata overwrites babl's signature field upon freeing, enabling potential memory corruption and code execution.

Severity
9.8 (Critical)
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
9.3 (Critical)
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
N/A (UNKNOWN)
medium
References
To clipboard 

{
  "affected": [
    {
      "ecosystem_specific": {
        "binaries": [
          {
            "binary_name": "libbabl-0.1-0",
            "binary_version": "0.1.16-1"
          }
        ]
      },
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "Ubuntu:16.04:LTS",
        "name": "babl",
        "purl": "pkg:deb/ubuntu/babl@0.1.16-1?arch=source\u0026distro=xenial"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "0"
            }
          ],
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM"
        }
      ],
      "versions": [
        "0.1.12-2",
        "0.1.14-1",
        "0.1.16-1"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ecosystem_specific": {
        "binaries": [
          {
            "binary_name": "libbabl-0.1-0",
            "binary_version": "0.1.44-1"
          }
        ]
      },
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "Ubuntu:18.04:LTS",
        "name": "babl",
        "purl": "pkg:deb/ubuntu/babl@0.1.44-1?arch=source\u0026distro=bionic"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "0"
            }
          ],
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM"
        }
      ],
      "versions": [
        "0.1.30-1",
        "0.1.34-1",
        "0.1.38-1",
        "0.1.44-1"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ecosystem_specific": {
        "binaries": [
          {
            "binary_name": "gir1.2-babl-0.1",
            "binary_version": "0.1.74-1"
          },
          {
            "binary_name": "libbabl-0.1-0",
            "binary_version": "0.1.74-1"
          }
        ]
      },
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "Ubuntu:20.04:LTS",
        "name": "babl",
        "purl": "pkg:deb/ubuntu/babl@0.1.74-1?arch=source\u0026distro=focal"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "0"
            }
          ],
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM"
        }
      ],
      "versions": [
        "0.1.62-1",
        "0.1.72-2",
        "0.1.72-3",
        "0.1.72-4",
        "0.1.74-1"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ecosystem_specific": {
        "binaries": [
          {
            "binary_name": "gir1.2-babl-0.1",
            "binary_version": "1:0.1.92-1"
          },
          {
            "binary_name": "libbabl-0.1-0",
            "binary_version": "1:0.1.92-1"
          }
        ]
      },
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "Ubuntu:22.04:LTS",
        "name": "babl",
        "purl": "pkg:deb/ubuntu/babl@1:0.1.92-1?arch=source\u0026distro=jammy"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "0"
            }
          ],
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM"
        }
      ],
      "versions": [
        "1:0.1.88-1",
        "1:0.1.92-1"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ecosystem_specific": {
        "binaries": [
          {
            "binary_name": "gir1.2-babl-0.1",
            "binary_version": "1:0.1.108-1"
          },
          {
            "binary_name": "libbabl-0.1-0",
            "binary_version": "1:0.1.108-1"
          }
        ]
      },
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "Ubuntu:24.04:LTS",
        "name": "babl",
        "purl": "pkg:deb/ubuntu/babl@1:0.1.108-1?arch=source\u0026distro=noble"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "0"
            }
          ],
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM"
        }
      ],
      "versions": [
        "1:0.1.106-2",
        "1:0.1.106-3",
        "1:0.1.108-1"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ecosystem_specific": {
        "binaries": [
          {
            "binary_name": "gir1.2-babl-0.1",
            "binary_version": "1:0.1.114-3"
          },
          {
            "binary_name": "libbabl-0.1-0",
            "binary_version": "1:0.1.114-3"
          }
        ]
      },
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "Ubuntu:25.10",
        "name": "babl",
        "purl": "pkg:deb/ubuntu/babl@1:0.1.114-3?arch=source\u0026distro=questing"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "0"
            }
          ],
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM"
        }
      ],
      "versions": [
        "1:0.1.112-1",
        "1:0.1.114-1",
        "1:0.1.114-2",
        "1:0.1.114-3"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ecosystem_specific": {
        "binaries": [
          {
            "binary_name": "gir1.2-babl-0.1",
            "binary_version": "1:0.1.124-1"
          },
          {
            "binary_name": "libbabl-0.1-0",
            "binary_version": "1:0.1.124-1"
          }
        ]
      },
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "Ubuntu:26.04:LTS",
        "name": "babl",
        "purl": "pkg:deb/ubuntu/babl@1:0.1.124-1?arch=source\u0026distro=resolute"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "0"
            }
          ],
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM"
        }
      ],
      "versions": [
        "1:0.1.114-3",
        "1:0.1.116-1",
        "1:0.1.118-1",
        "1:0.1.118-2",
        "1:0.1.120-1",
        "1:0.1.120-2",
        "1:0.1.122-1",
        "1:0.1.124-1"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "aliases": [],
  "details": "libbabl 0.1.62 contains a broken double free detection vulnerability that allows attackers to bypass memory safety checks by exploiting signature overwriting in freed chunks. Attackers can call babl_free() twice on the same pointer without triggering detection, as libc\u0027s malloc metadata overwrites babl\u0027s signature field upon freeing, enabling potential memory corruption and code execution.",
  "id": "UBUNTU-CVE-2020-37239",
  "modified": "2026-05-16T16:16:00Z",
  "published": "2026-05-16T16:16:00Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "REPORT",
      "url": "https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2020-37239"
    },
    {
      "type": "REPORT",
      "url": "https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-37239"
    },
    {
      "type": "REPORT",
      "url": "https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/49259"
    },
    {
      "type": "REPORT",
      "url": "https://www.gegl.org"
    },
    {
      "type": "REPORT",
      "url": "https://www.gegl.org/babl/"
    },
    {
      "type": "REPORT",
      "url": "https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/libbabl-broken-double-free-detection-memory-safety"
    }
  ],
  "related": [],
  "schema_version": "1.7.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    },
    {
      "score": "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N",
      "type": "CVSS_V4"
    },
    {
      "score": "medium",
      "type": "Ubuntu"
    }
  ],
  "upstream": [
    "CVE-2020-37239"
  ]
}



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