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Libid3tagApplication · Libid3tag Project

CVE-2017-11550

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-07-31
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
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 id3_ucs4_length function in ucs4.c in libid3tag 0.15.1b allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (NULL Pointer Dereference and application crash) via a crafted mp3 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 confidence

A NULL pointer dereference vulnerability exists in the id3_ucs4_length function in ucs4.c of libid3tag 0.15.1b. When parsing a crafted MP3 file with malicious ID3 tags, the function attempts to dereference a NULL pointer, causing the application to crash and resulting in denial of service.

MitigationUpdate libid3tag to a patched version if available, or implement input validation to reject malformed ID3 tags before processing. Consider adding NULL pointer checks in the vulnerable function.

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
Libid3tagApplication
Affected:= 0.15.1b

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. Identify if libid3tag is in use
    Search for libid3tag library files (libid3tag.so, libid3tag.a) on the system, or grep for 'libid3tag' in application dependencies
    Affected if libid3tag library files are present or listed as a dependency
  2. Determine installed version of libid3tag
    Check the library version via 'pkg-config --modversion libid3tag', 'ldd' output, or inspect the library binary metadata
    Affected if version is 0.15.1b exactly
  3. Confirm ID3 tag parsing activity
    Review application logs or code to determine if the application uses libid3tag functions to parse ID3 tags from MP3 files
    Affected if application parses ID3 tags from MP3 files using libid3tag
  4. Locate vulnerable source file
    Check if ucs4.c from libid3tag version 0.15.1b is compiled into any application or library
    Affected if ucs4.c from the affected version is in use

The environment is affected if libid3tag version 0.15.1b is installed and any application uses it to parse ID3 tags from MP3 files.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update libid3tag to a patched version if available, or implement input validation to reject malformed ID3 tags before processing. Consider adding NULL pointer checks in the vulnerable function.

Fix this in Libid3tag Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,120
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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-2017-11550 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
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