rabbitmq-c: Heap buffer overflow in AMQP login handshake via undersized connection.tune.frame_max

rabbitmq-c is a C-language AMQP client library for RabbitMQ. Prior to 0.16.0, a malicious AMQP server can send an undersized connection.tune.frame_max value during amqp_login(), and rabbitmq-c accepts the value in amqp_login_inner() in librabbitmq/amqp_socket.c. amqp_tune_connection() in librabbitmq/amqp_connection.c uses frame_max to reallocate the outbound buffer without enforcing AMQP_FRAME_MIN_SIZE. Immediate serialization of connection.tune-ok through amqp_frame_to_bytes() writes beyond the undersized heap allocation, causing memory corruption and likely denial of service. An on-path attacker can also trigger the flaw against plaintext AMQP traffic. Code execution is theoretically possible but was not demonstrated. This issue is fixed in version 0.16.0.

A heap overflow condition is a buffer overflow, where the buffer that can be overwritten is allocated in the heap portion of memory, generally meaning that the buffer was allocated using a routine such as malloc().

An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation without authentication after a user interaction. If successful, the issue may disrupt the affected service.