dbcve.org
LibmicrohttpdWeb server / proxy · Gnu

CVE-2013-7038

MEDIUM · 6.4 CVSS v2.0 Published 2013-12-13
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 0.9.31 or later.
See remediation →
73/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
The MHD_http_unescape function in libmicrohttpd before 0.9.32 might allow remote attackers to obtain sensitive information or cause a denial of service (crash) via unspecified vectors that trigger an out-of-bounds read.

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

The MHD_http_unescape function in libmicrohttpd before version 0.9.32 contains an out-of-bounds read vulnerability that could allow remote attackers to obtain sensitive information from memory or cause a denial of service (crash) via crafted HTTP URL sequences that trigger the unspecified vectors.

MitigationUpgrade libmicrohttpd to version 0.9.32 or later to resolve the out-of-bounds read in MHD_http_unescape.

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
LibmicrohttpdWeb server / proxy
Affected:<= 0.9.31= 0.9.16= 0.9.17= 0.9.18= 0.9.19= 0.9.20= 0.9.21= 0.9.22= 0.9.23= 0.9.24= 0.9.25= 0.9.26

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
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Partial
Integrity
None
Availability
Partial

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/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. Identify libmicrohttpd version
    Run 'dpkg -l libmicrohttpd*' or 'rpm -qa | grep microhttpd' on Linux, or check the library binary with 'strings libmicrohttpd.so* | grep 0\\.9' to extract version strings
    Affected if Version is 0.9.31 or earlier, specifically any version from 0.9.16 through 0.9.26 or below 0.9.32
  2. Confirm HTTP request handling is in use
    Check if the application or service using libmicrohttpd is configured to accept and process incoming HTTP requests with URL query parameters or encoded characters
    Affected if HTTP request processing that involves URL decoding is enabled
  3. Verify MHD_http_unescape is invoked
    Inspect application logs or code if available, or test the service with crafted URL-encoded requests (e.g., % followed by invalid hex sequences) to trigger the vulnerable code path
    Affected if The MHD_http_unescape function is called during URL processing for incoming HTTP requests

The environment is affected if libmicrohttpd version is 0.9.31 or earlier (0.9.16-0.9.26) and the library is actively handling HTTP requests that require URL unescaping.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 0.9.31
Interim mitigation

Upgrade libmicrohttpd to version 0.9.32 or later to resolve the out-of-bounds read in MHD_http_unescape.

Fix this in Libmicrohttpd Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,540
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,464.

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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-2013-7038 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