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PotraceApplication · Potrace Project

CVE-2016-8695

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-01-31
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 1.12 or later.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
No privileges

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
The bm_readbody_bmp function in bitmap_io.c in potrace before 1.13 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and crash) via a crafted BMP image, a different vulnerability than CVE-2016-8694 and CVE-2016-8696.

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

A NULL pointer dereference vulnerability exists in potrace's bm_readbody_bmp function in bitmap_io.c. When processing a specially crafted BMP image, the function fails to properly validate pointer initialization, leading to a crash and denial of service.

MitigationUpgrade to potrace version 1.13 or later, which contains the fix for this vulnerability. Additionally, implement input validation on BMP files before processing.

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
PotraceApplication
Affected:<= 1.12

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check if potrace is installed
    Run 'which potrace' on Linux/macOS or 'where potrace' on Windows to locate the potrace binary
    Affected if potrace is not found on the system, then this CVE does not apply
  2. Identify the installed potrace version
    Run 'potrace --version' to display the version number
    Affected if The version number returned is 1.12 or lower (e.g., 1.11, 1.10, 1.8)
  3. Verify BMP image processing capability
    Potrace processes BMP files through the bm_readbody_bmp function in bitmap_io.c. Confirm BMP input is used by checking if your workflow involves converting BMP images with potrace
    Affected if BMP files are processed through potrace - the vulnerability only triggers when reading BMP format files
  4. Locate the vulnerable bitmap_io.c component (optional)
    If potrace source is available, check the file src/bitmap_io.c for the bm_readbody_bmp function and verify it lacks proper NULL pointer validation on pointer initialization
    Affected if The source code shows missing NULL checks before pointer use in bm_readbody_bmp for versions 1.12 and below

You are affected if potrace version 1.12 or lower is installed AND BMP image files are processed using this tool.

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 1.12
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to potrace version 1.13 or later, which contains the fix for this vulnerability. Additionally, implement input validation on BMP files before processing.

Fix this in Potrace Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,900
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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-2016-8695 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