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Debian LinuxOperating system · Debian

CVE-2015-0838

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v2.0 Published 2015-03-31
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 0.9.8 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
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
Buffer overflow in the C implementation of the apply_delta function in _pack.c in Dulwich before 0.9.9 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted pack 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 · high confidence

Buffer overflow in the C implementation of apply_delta function in _pack.c allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted Git pack file. This affects Dulwich versions prior to 0.9.9. The vulnerability exists in the delta application logic which processes compressed object differences in pack files.

MitigationUpgrade Dulwich to version 0.9.9 or later to obtain the patched apply_delta implementation with proper bounds checking.

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
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 7.0
DulwichApplication
Affected:<= 0.9.8

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
Partial
Availability
Partial

AV:N/AC:L/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. Identify if Dulwich is installed
    Run 'pip show dulwich' or check your package manager for the dulwich package
    Affected if Dulwich is installed and the version is 0.9.8 or earlier
  2. Check the exact Dulwich version
    Run 'pip show dulwich' and look for the Version field, or use 'dulwich --version' if available
    Affected if The reported version is 0.9.8 or lower, or any version prior to 0.9.9
  3. Verify the _pack.c module is present
    Locate the dulwich installation directory and confirm _pack.c or _pack.so exists in the source tree
    Affected if The vulnerable delta application code is present in the installed version

You are affected if Dulwich version 0.9.8 or earlier is installed and being used to process Git pack files.

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 0.9.8
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Dulwich to version 0.9.9 or later to obtain the patched apply_delta implementation with proper bounds checking.

Fix this in Debian Linux Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
24.0 hours of engineering $4,160
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,656.

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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-2015-0838 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