CVE-2016-8387
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 · uneditedAn exploitable heap-based buffer overflow exists in Iceni Argus. When it attempts to convert a malformed PDF with an object encoded w/ multiple encoding types terminating with an LZW encoded type, an overflow may occur due to a lack of bounds checking by the LZW decoder. This can lead to code execution under the context of the account of the user running it.
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 in Iceni Argus PDF converter's LZW decoder. When converting a malformed PDF containing an object encoded with multiple encoding types terminating in LZW, the LZW decoder fails to perform proper bounds checking, causing heap memory corruption that can lead to arbitrary code execution under the user's context.
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= 6.6.04CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify Iceni Argus is installedCheck for the presence of Iceni Argus PDF converter on the system. Common installation paths include C:\Program Files\Iceni\Argus or C:\Program Files (x86)\Iceni\Argus. On Linux, check /usr/bin/iceni-argus or /opt/iceni/argus. On Mac, check /Applications/Iceni Argus.Affected if Iceni Argus is not found on the system, then the user is not affected.
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Determine installed versionLocate and open the Iceni Argus application, then access Help > About or About Iceni Argus to view the exact version number. Alternatively, check the program's executable properties or version info in the installed directory.Affected if The installed version is exactly 6.6.04, then the user is affected.
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Identify if PDF conversion with LZW is performedReview workflow or automation scripts that use Iceni Argus to determine if PDF conversion is performed, particularly on files that may contain LZW-encoded streams or objects.Affected if PDF conversion using Iceni Argus is performed on files with LZW-encoded content, then the user is affected.
A user is affected if Iceni Argus version 6.6.04 is installed and is used to convert PDF files, particularly those that may contain LZW-encoded objects or streams.
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 Iceni Argus to the latest patched version. Until then, avoid processing untrusted or malformed PDF files and run the converter with least privilege to limit impact of potential code execution.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-8387 — 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-2016-8387 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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