CVE-2022-27406

What it actually does

The vulnerability is a buffer overflow in the FreeType font rendering library that can cause memory corruption.

Why it matters to the business

Applications using FreeType may crash or be compromised when processing malicious fonts, affecting document viewers, browsers, and other software that renders text; the issue has been public for over four years with exploit code available.

How an attack unfolds

An attacker crafts a malicious font file that triggers the buffer overflow when loaded by the vulnerable FreeType library, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution. Exploit code is publicly available.

How to fix it

Update FreeType to the fixed version in commit e50798b72043c8b378caa46e0a854519f9028ae4 or later.

How to confirm the fix worked

Verify the installed FreeType version or commit hash matches the fixed one.

Typical attack path

1. Deliver malicious font file to target application
2. Trigger font parsing in FreeType
3. Exploit buffer overflow for code execution or denial of service

How to detect it

Look for crashes in applications using FreeType when processing font files; check for known exploit patterns if available.

What your security team should do

• Upgrade FreeType library to the patched commit
• Scan environments for outdated FreeType instances
• Review application dependencies for FreeType usage