CVE-2015-1171
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 · uneditedStack-based buffer overflow in GSM SIM Utility (aka SIM Card Editor) 6.6 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a long entry in a .sms 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 confidenceA stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in GSM SIM Utility 6.6 when parsing .sms files. The application fails to properly validate the length of SMS entries before copying them into a fixed-size stack buffer, allowing an attacker to overwrite return addresses and execute arbitrary code by supplying a specially crafted .sms file with an overly long entry.
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= 6.6CVSS 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
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify if GSM SIM Utility is installedCheck for the presence of Gsm Sim Card Editor in installed programs (Windows: Check Add/Remove Programs, or look for the executable in Program Files)Affected if The software is installed and version is 6.6 exactly
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Verify the installed versionRight-click the application executable, select Properties, and check the File Version in the Details tab. Or run the application and look for the version in Help > AboutAffected if Version is 6.6 (the only affected version listed)
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Check if .sms file handling is enabledOpen the application and attempt to use any function that loads or imports .sms files (File > Open, File > Import, or similar menu options)Affected if The application can load and parse .sms files without any length validation prompts or warnings
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Inspect .sms file association or recent file historyCheck if .sms file type is registered to open with Gsm Sim Card Editor (Windows: Default Programs > Set Associations). Also check application recent files or logs for .sms file processingAffected if The application is configured as the default handler for .sms files or has recently processed .sms files
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Review SMS entry parsing behaviorCreate a test .sms file with an SMS entry field exceeding normal length (over 160 characters for a standard SMS) and attempt to load it in the application, observing for crashes or buffer overflow symptomsAffected if The application accepts and processes .sms files without rejecting oversized entries, indicating the vulnerable code path is reachable
You are affected if Gsm Sim Card Editor version 6.6 is installed and can load/parse .sms files, as the vulnerability exists in the SMS entry parsing routine without proper length validation.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataDo not open .sms files from untrusted sources. Contact the vendor for a patched version or implement input length validation on SMS entry fields before buffer operations.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-1171 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2015-1171 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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
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