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ProtobufApplication · Google

CVE-2015-5237

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2017-09-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 3.1.0 or later.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable 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
protobuf allows remote authenticated attackers to cause a heap-based buffer overflow.

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

Protocol Buffers (protobuf) library contains a heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability that can be triggered by remote authenticated attackers through specially crafted serialized messages.

MitigationUpgrade protobuf to the patched version; if immediate upgrade is not feasible, restrict network access to trusted authenticated users and monitor for anomalous deserialization behavior.

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
ProtobufApplication
Affected:<= 3.1.0

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
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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 protobuf installation
    Locate the protobuf library in your environment by checking application dependencies, package manager listings, or searching for libprotobuf files
    Affected if Protobuf library is present and version is <= 3.1.0
  2. Determine installed version
    Run the command to query protobuf version (such as 'protoc --version' or check the library binary metadata) and compare the output to the affected range
    Affected if Returned version number is 3.1.0 or lower
  3. Verify protobuf deserialization is in use
    Inspect application code, configuration, or runtime behavior for protobuf message parsing or deserialization functions (such as ParseFromArray, ParseFromString, or similar parsing methods)
    Affected if The application deserializes protobuf messages from external or untrusted sources
  4. Assess network exposure
    Review network configuration to determine if the service or application accepting protobuf data is accessible from the network
    Affected if The service processing protobuf messages is network-accessible to unauthenticated or untrusted users

You are affected if protobuf library version is 3.1.0 or lower AND your application deserializes protobuf messages from network-accessible 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
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 3.1.0
Interim mitigation

Upgrade protobuf to the patched version; if immediate upgrade is not feasible, restrict network access to trusted authenticated users and monitor for anomalous deserialization behavior.

Fix this in Protobuf Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,100
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,960.

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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-2015-5237 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