Ubuntu LinuxOperating system · Canonical
CVE-2015-8923
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 · uneditedThe process_extra function in libarchive before 3.2.0 uses the size field and a signed number in an offset, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) via a crafted zip 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 confidenceThe process_extra function in libarchive versions before 3.2.0 improperly handles the size field combined with a signed number in an offset when parsing zip file extra fields. This arithmetic error allows a specially crafted zip file to trigger a crash (denial of service) when processed.
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
Ubuntu LinuxOperating system
= 12.04= 14.04= 15.10= 16.04<= 3.1.901a= 12.0= 12.0= 12.0CVSS 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
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check installed libarchive versionOn Debian/Ubuntu: dpkg -l libarchive13 or dpkg -l libarchive-dev. On SUSE: rpm -qa | grep libarchive. Compare the version number to 3.1.901a (any version <= 3.1.901a is vulnerable).Affected if libarchive version is 3.1.901a or lower (before 3.2.0)
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Identify applications using libarchiveRun ldd on binary files suspected of using libarchive, or check package dependencies: apt-cache rdepends libarchive13 (Ubuntu) or rpm -qf /usr/lib/libarchive* (SUSE).Affected if any application on the system links to the vulnerable libarchive library
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Verify zip file processing capabilityCheck if any installed applications (e.g., file managers, archive tools, backup software) are configured to handle .zip files. These applications may invoke libarchive for zip extraction.Affected if the system has tools that process zip files using libarchive
The system is affected if libarchive version 3.1.901a or earlier is installed AND any application uses it to process zip files, as the vulnerability triggers during zip extra field parsing.
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 dataUpdate libarchive to version 3.2.0 or later to obtain the fix for this vulnerability. Verify all applications and systems using libarchive are recompiled against the updated library.
Fix this in Ubuntu Linux
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,328.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-8923 — 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-2015-8923 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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