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Upx CVE-2017-15056

HIGH
NULL Pointer Dereference (CWE-476)
2017-10-06 cve@mitre.org
7.8
CVSS 3.0 · NVD
View

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A10:2025 - Mishandling of Exceptional Conditions
ASVS 5.0
V16 - Security Logging and Error Handling Null pointer safety, defensive checks
MITRE ATT&CK

1 technique across 1 tactic: Impact

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

Impact

CVSS score of 7.8 (HIGH). Attack characteristics: local attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, user interaction required. EPSS exploitation probability: 0.11%.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

A local attacker with access to the system could crash the application by dereferencing a null pointer. No authentication is required to exploit this vulnerability.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
Patch available 0.1% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAI

p_lx_elf.cpp in UPX 3.94 mishandles ELF headers, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact via a crafted binary file, as. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. This NULL Pointer Dereference vulnerability could allow attackers to crash the application by dereferencing a null pointer.

RemediationAI

A vendor patch is available. Apply the latest security update as soon as possible. Check pointers before dereferencing. Use static analysis tools to detect null pointer paths.

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 NULL Pointer Dereference (CWE-476), which allows attackers to crash the application by dereferencing a null pointer. p_lx_elf.cpp in UPX 3.94 mishandles ELF headers, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact via a crafted binary file, as demonstrated by an Invalid Pointer Read in PackLinuxElf64::unpack(). Affected products include: Upx.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 7.8 HIGH
AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

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

DescriptionCVE.org

p_lx_elf.cpp in UPX 3.94 mishandles ELF headers, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact via a crafted binary file, as demonstrated by an Invalid Pointer Read in PackLinuxElf64::unpack().

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.1%
Top 72% 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 HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.1%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)
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
Defer
Exploitation· derived
None
System Exposure· derived
Small
Automatable· derived
No
Human Impact· derived
Medium

Priority Score

39
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +39
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

A null pointer dereference occurs when a program attempts to access memory through a pointer that has been set to NULL (address 0x0).

Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.

Affected Products (CPE)CVE.org

cpe:2.3:a:upx:upx:3.94:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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A vulnerability was found in UPX up to 4.2.2. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploit

CVE-2021-30500 HIGH POC
7.8 May 27

Null pointer dereference was found in upx PackLinuxElf::canUnpack() in p_lx_elf.cpp,in version UPX 4.0.0. Rated high sev

CVE-2019-14296 HIGH POC
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canUnpack in p_vmlinx.cpp in UPX 3.95 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (SEGV or buffer overflow, and

CVE-2018-11243 HIGH POC
7.8 May 18

PackLinuxElf64::unpack in p_lx_elf.cpp in UPX 3.95 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (double free), l

CVE-2021-20285 MEDIUM POC
6.6 Mar 26

A flaw was found in upx canPack in p_lx_elf.cpp in UPX 3.96. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.6), this vulnerability is no

CVE-2023-23457 MEDIUM POC
5.5 Jan 12

A Segmentation fault was found in UPX in PackLinuxElf64::invert_pt_dynamic() in p_lx_elf.cpp. Rated medium severity (CVS

CVE-2023-23456 MEDIUM POC
5.5 Jan 12

A heap-based buffer overflow issue was discovered in UPX in PackTmt::pack() in p_tmt.cpp file. Rated medium severity (CV

CVE-2021-30501 MEDIUM POC
5.5 May 27

An assertion abort was found in upx MemBuffer::alloc() in mem.cpp, in version UPX 4.0.0. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5

CVE-2019-20053 MEDIUM POC
5.5 Dec 27

An invalid memory address dereference was discovered in the canUnpack function in p_mach.cpp in UPX 3.95 via a crafted M

CVE-2019-20051 MEDIUM POC
5.5 Dec 27

A floating-point exception was discovered in PackLinuxElf::elf_hash in p_lx_elf.cpp in UPX 3.95. Rated medium severity (

CVE-2019-20021 MEDIUM POC
5.5 Dec 27

A heap-based buffer over-read was discovered in canUnpack in p_mach.cpp in UPX 3.95 via a crafted Mach-O file. Rated med

CVE-2019-14295 MEDIUM POC
5.5 Jul 27

An Integer overflow in the getElfSections function in p_vmlinx.cpp in UPX 3.95 allows remote attackers to cause a denial

References

Advisories & patches

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