Applications using libxml2 could be made to crash or run programs as your login if they opened a specially crafted file.
Juri Aedla discovered that libxml2 contained an off by one error in its XPointer functionality. If a user or application linked against libxml2 were tricked into opening a specially crafted XML file, an attacker could cause the application to crash or possibly execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the user invoking the program.
21 May 2012
A security issue affects these releases of Ubuntu and its derivatives:
Applications using libxml2 could be made to crash or run programs as your login if they opened a specially crafted file.
Juri Aedla discovered that libxml2 contained an off by one error in its XPointer functionality. If a user or application linked against libxml2 were tricked into opening a specially crafted XML file, an attacker could cause the application to crash or possibly execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the user invoking the program.
The problem can be corrected by updating your system to the following package versions:
To update your system, please follow these instructions: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Security/Upgrades.
After a standard system update you need to reboot your computer to make all the necessary changes.
Vulmon