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PotraceApplication · Potrace Project

CVE-2016-8703

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-01-31
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 1.12 or later.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
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
Heap-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-2016-8699, CVE-2016-8700, CVE-2016-8701, and CVE-2016-8702.

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 confidence

Heap-based buffer overflow in the bm_readbody_bmp function in bitmap_io.c in potrace versions before 1.13. The vulnerability is triggered when processing a specially crafted BMP image, allowing remote attackers to overflow a heap buffer with unspecified impact (likely arbitrary code execution or denial of service).

MitigationUpgrade potrace to version 1.13 or later. Until then, avoid processing untrusted BMP files with potrace.

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
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 checks

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

  1. Check if potrace is installed
    Run 'potrace --version' or 'which potrace' to verify the software is present on the system
    Affected if potrace is not installed, the system is not affected by this CVE
  2. Determine installed potrace version
    Run 'potrace --version' and note the version number returned
    Affected if The version displayed is 1.12 or lower (e.g., 1.12, 1.11, 1.10, etc.)
  3. Identify if BMP files are processed
    Review any workflows, scripts, or automated processes that invoke potrace and check if BMP input files are handled
    Affected if potrace processes BMP files and the version is 1.12 or lower
  4. Verify bitmap_io.c is in use
    Check the potrace installation directory for bitmap_io.c or inspect the binary to confirm BMP processing capability is enabled
    Affected if BMP support is compiled into the potrace binary and the version is 1.12 or lower

A system is affected if potrace version 1.12 or lower is installed and BMP files are processed using the bm_readbody_bmp function.

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 potrace to version 1.13 or later. Until then, avoid processing untrusted BMP files with potrace.

Fix this in Potrace Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
Get the upgrade done

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

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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-2016-8703 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