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TetexApplication

CVE-2007-5937

MEDIUM · 6.8 CVSS v2.0 Published 2007-11-13
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
77/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Multiple buffer overflows in dvi2xx.c in dviljk in teTeX and TeXlive 2007 and earlier might allow user-assisted attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted DVI input file.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

A buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the dviljk utility's dvi2xx.c component when parsing DVI (DeVice Independent) files. An attacker can craft a malicious DVI file that, when processed by the vulnerable utility, can overwrite memory and potentially execute arbitrary code. This requires user-assisted attack vector where the victim must open the crafted file.

MitigationUpgrade teTeX/TeXlive to a version beyond 2007 that includes the patched dviljk component, or apply vendor-provided patches to dvi2xx.c that add proper bounds checking during DVI file parsing.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
TetexApplication
Affected:all versions
Texlive 2007Application
Affected:all versions

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
M
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Partial
Integrity
Partial
Availability
Partial

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Locate the dviljk utility on your system
    Run 'which dviljk' or 'find /usr -name dviljk' to find the executable
    Affected if The utility is found and present on the system
  2. Identify the teTeX or TeXlive package version
    Run 'tlgmr --version' for TeXlive or check your package manager for teTeX version (e.g., 'dpkg -l tetex-*' or 'rpm -qa tetex*')
    Affected if The installed version is any version of teTeX, or any version of TeXlive 2007
  3. Verify dvi2xx.c is the active DVI processing component
    Check if dviljk is invoked for DVI file conversion (inspect any scripts or workflows that process DVI files using dviljk)
    Affected if DVI files are processed through the dviljk utility in your workflow
  4. Confirm DVI file input is user-controlled
    Review if external or untrusted DVI files can be submitted to dviljk for processing
    Affected if Users can supply DVI files to the system for conversion via dviljk

You are affected if dviljk from teTeX (any version) or Texlive 2007 (any version) is installed and processes DVI files, especially from untrusted sources.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade teTeX/TeXlive to a version beyond 2007 that includes the patched dviljk component, or apply vendor-provided patches to dvi2xx.c that add proper bounds checking during DVI file parsing.

Fix this in Tetex Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2007-5937 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data