Debian LinuxOperating system · Debian
CVE-2015-7497
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 · uneditedHeap-based buffer overflow in the xmlDictComputeFastQKey function in dict.c in libxml2 before 2.9.3 allows context-dependent attackers to cause a denial of service via unspecified vectors.
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 confidenceHeap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in libxml2's xmlDictComputeFastQKey function in dict.c. The flaw allows context-dependent attackers to trigger a heap overflow via unspecified XML parsing vectors, potentially causing denial of service. The vulnerability exists in versions of libxml2 prior to 2.9.3.
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
= 7.0= 8.0
Ubuntu LinuxOperating system
= 12.04= 14.04= 15.04= 15.10
Enterprise Linux DesktopOperating system
= 6.0
Enterprise Linux Hpc NodeOperating system
= 6.0
Enterprise Linux ServerOperating system
= 6.0
Enterprise Linux WorkstationOperating system
= 6.0<= 2.9.2= 3.0CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check installed libxml2 versionRun 'xml2 --version' or 'pkg-config --modversion libxml-2.0' to determine the installed libxml2 library versionAffected if Version is 2.9.2 or earlier, or version cannot be determined (unknown versions should be treated as vulnerable)
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Identify applications using libxml2Run 'ldd /path/to/application | grep libxml' or check application dependencies to find binaries that link against libxml2Affected if Any application links to libxml2 version 2.9.2 or earlier
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Check for libxml2 in bundled librariesSearch application directories for local copies of libxml2 using 'find . -name "libxml*" -type f' and check their versionsAffected if Bundled libxml2 library version is 2.9.2 or earlier
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Verify XML parsing is usedReview application functionality to confirm it parses XML input (check for .xml files, XML APIs, or XML-related features)Affected if Application performs XML parsing - this is required to reach the vulnerable code path in xmlDictComputeFastQKey
A system is affected if it runs any application that parses XML and links to or bundles libxml2 version 2.9.2 or earlier (including unknown versions).
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 dataUpgrade libxml2 to version 2.9.3 or later to obtain the patched version of xmlDictComputeFastQKey. Conduct an inventory of all systems and applications that bundle or link against libxml2 to ensure complete coverage.
Fix this in Debian Linux
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-7497 — 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-2015-7497 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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