Skip to main content

Libcurl CVE-2017-1000257

CRITICAL
Buffer Overflow (CWE-119)
2017-10-31 cve@mitre.org
9.1
CVSS 3.1 · NVD
View

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Bounds checking, buffer size validation
MITRE ATT&CK

2 techniques across 2 tactics: Execution, Privilege Escalation

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Impact

CVSS score of 9.1 (CRITICAL). Attack characteristics: network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, no user interaction not required. EPSS exploitation probability: 1.00%.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

A remote attacker could corrupt memory to execute arbitrary code or crash the application by sending crafted requests to the affected application. No authentication is required to exploit this vulnerability.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Why: CRITICAL severity.
No patch listed yet 1.0% exploitation probability (EPSS)

Get an e-mail when this CVE is exploited, patched or re-scored. Free account.

Alert me

AnalysisAI

An IMAP FETCH response line indicates the size of the returned data, in number of bytes. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.

RemediationAI

No vendor patch is available at time of analysis. Monitor vendor advisories for updates. Use memory-safe languages or bounds-checking. Enable ASLR, DEP/NX, stack canaries. Use safe string functions.

Affects your stack

Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability is classified as Buffer Overflow (CWE-119), which allows attackers to corrupt memory to execute arbitrary code or crash the application. An IMAP FETCH response line indicates the size of the returned data, in number of bytes. When that response says the data is zero bytes, libcurl would pass on that (non-existing) data with a pointer and the size (zero) to the deliver-data function. libcurl's deliver-data function treats zero as a magic number and invokes strlen() on the data to figure out the length. The strlen() is called on a heap based buffer that might not be zero terminated so libcurl might read beyond the end of it into whatever memory lies after (or just crash) and then deliver that to the application as if it was actually downloaded. Affected products include: Haxx Libcurl, Debian Debian Linux.

Know when Libcurl gets its next vulnerability

  • Watch products and get an email when something new is published
  • Check this CVE against your own stack and servers
  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

No credit card · 7-day full trial

Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 9.1 CRITICAL
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
High

DescriptionCVE.org

An IMAP FETCH response line indicates the size of the returned data, in number of bytes. When that response says the data is zero bytes, libcurl would pass on that (non-existing) data with a pointer and the size (zero) to the deliver-data function. libcurl's deliver-data function treats zero as a magic number and invokes strlen() on the data to figure out the length. The strlen() is called on a heap based buffer that might not be zero terminated so libcurl might read beyond the end of it into whatever memory lies after (or just crash) and then deliver that to the application as if it was actually downloaded.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
1.0%
Top 23% exploitable
Data Quality
4 sources
Confidence: Medium

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity CRITICAL
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 1.0%
Patch available No
Active threat No
Deciding rule
CRITICAL severity
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation· derived
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable· derived
Yes
Human Impact· derived
Medium

Priority Score

47
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: +1
CVSS: +46
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

A buffer overflow occurs when a program writes more data to a memory buffer than it was allocated to hold, causing the excess data to spill into adjacent memory regions.

Affected Products (CPE)CVE.org

cpe:2.3:a:haxx:libcurl:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
CVE-2013-0249 HIGH POC
7.5 Mar 08

Stack-based buffer overflow in the Curl_sasl_create_digest_md5_message function in lib/curl_sasl.c in curl and libcurl 7

CVE-2015-3145 HIGH
7.5 Apr 24

The sanitize_cookie_path function in cURL and libcurl 7.31.0 through 7.41.0 does not properly calculate an index, which

CVE-2023-38545 CRITICAL POC
9.8 Oct 18

This flaw makes curl overflow a heap based buffer in the SOCKS5 proxy handshake. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), thi

CVE-2019-5436 HIGH POC
7.8 May 28

A heap buffer overflow in the TFTP receiving code allows for DoS or arbitrary code execution in libcurl versions 7.19.4

CVE-2021-22945 CRITICAL POC
9.1 Sep 23

When sending data to an MQTT server, libcurl <= 7.73.0 and 7.78.0 could in some circumstances erroneously keep a pointer

CVE-2019-3822 CRITICAL POC
9.8 Feb 06

libcurl versions from 7.36.0 to before 7.64.0 are vulnerable to a stack-based buffer overflow. Rated critical severity (

CVE-2020-8286 HIGH POC
7.5 Dec 14

curl 7.41.0 through 7.73.0 is vulnerable to an improper check for certificate revocation due to insufficient verificatio

CVE-2020-8231 HIGH POC
7.5 Dec 14

Due to use of a dangling pointer, libcurl 7.29.0 through 7.71.1 can use the wrong connection when sending data. Rated hi

CVE-2020-8285 HIGH POC
7.5 Dec 14

curl 7.21.0 to and including 7.73.0 is vulnerable to uncontrolled recursion due to a stack overflow issue in FTP wildcar

CVE-2019-3823 HIGH POC
7.5 Feb 06

libcurl versions from 7.34.0 to before 7.64.0 are vulnerable to a heap out-of-bounds read in the code handling the end-o

CVE-2013-2174 MEDIUM POC
6.8 Jul 31

Heap-based buffer overflow in the curl_easy_unescape function in lib/escape.c in cURL and libcurl 7.7 through 7.30.0 all

CVE-2025-0725 HIGH POC
7.3 Feb 05

When libcurl is asked to perform automatic gzip decompression of content-encoded HTTP responses with the `CURLOPT_ACCEPT

This site uses cookies essential for authentication and security. No tracking or analytics cookies are used. Privacy Policy