CVE-2016-8699
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 bm_readbody_bmp function in bitmap_io.c in potrace before 1.13 allows remote attackers to have unspecified impact via a crafted BMP image, a different vulnerability than CVE-2016-8698, CVE-2016-8700, CVE-2016-8701, CVE-2016-8702, and CVE-2016-8703.
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 confidenceA heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in potrace's BMP parsing code (bm_readbody_bmp function in bitmap_io.c). The flaw allows remote attackers to cause unspecified impact by supplying a specially crafted BMP image file, as the function fails to properly validate bounds when reading BMP data into heap buffers.
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<= 1.12CVSS 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:3.0/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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Identify potrace installationRun 'potrace --version' or check your package manager (e.g., 'dpkg -l potrace', 'rpm -qi potrace', 'brew list potrace')Affected if potrace is not found, skip this CVE check
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Determine installed versionCompare the version output from step 1 against the affected range: versions 1.12 and earlier are vulnerableAffected if Version is 1.12 or lower - proceed to step 3; version 1.13 or higher - not affected by this CVE
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Confirm BMP processing is in useReview your workflows, scripts, or applications that invoke potrace to determine if BMP format input files are being processed (the vulnerability is in bm_readbody_bmp in bitmap_io.c)Affected if BMP files are processed by potrace - you are vulnerable; only processing other formats (e.g., PNM, PBM, PGM, PPM) - not affected by this specific flaw
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Inspect the binary for vulnerable code (optional)If direct source inspection is possible, verify the binary links to the unpatched bitmap_io.c by checking file modification dates or using 'strings' to look for version strings in the potrace binaryAffected if Binary is built from unpatched source <=1.12 and BMP support is compiled in - vulnerable
You are affected if potrace version 1.12 or earlier is installed AND BMP format images are being processed by potrace.
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 potrace to version 1.13 or later which contains the fix for this heap overflow vulnerability. If upgrading is not immediately possible, implement input validation on BMP files before processing, or disable BMP format support until the update can be applied.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-8699 — 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-2016-8699 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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