CVE-2017-12468
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 · uneditedBuffer overflow in ccn-lite-ccnb2xml.c in CCN-lite before 2.00 allows context-dependent attackers to have unspecified impact via vectors involving the vallen and len variables.
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 confidenceBuffer overflow vulnerability in ccn-lite-ccnb2xml.c where the vallen (length) variable is not properly validated against the len variable, allowing attackers to overflow the buffer. This is a classic heap or stack-based buffer overflow where inadequate bounds checking before memory operations enables arbitrary code execution.
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< 2.0.0CVSS 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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/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 CCN-lite installation and versionRun 'ccn-lite-ccnb2xml -v' or 'ccn-lite-version' to check the installed version. If not available, check package manager (dpkg -l ccn-lite, rpm -qi ccn-lite, or similar).Affected if The installed version is lower than 2.0.0 (e.g., 1.x.x series)
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Locate the vulnerable source fileSearch for 'ccn-lite-ccnb2xml.c' in the installation directory or source tree: find / -name 'ccn-lite-ccnb2xml.c' 2>/dev/nullAffected if The file exists and originates from an unpatched CCN-lite version < 2.0.0
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Verify the vulnerable code patternIf source is available, examine the file around the memory allocation and check whether proper bounds validation exists between 'vallen' and 'len' variables before buffer operations.Affected if The code lacks validation comparing vallen against len before using these values in memcpy or similar operations
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Check if ccnb2xml tool is in useReview application logs or scripts that invoke 'ccn-lite-ccnb2xml' to determine if this tool processes untrusted CCNb data.Affected if The ccnb2xml tool is used to parse potentially malicious or untrusted CCNb content
You are affected if CCN-lite version is below 2.0.0 and the ccnb2xml component processes untrusted CCNb data, as the missing bounds check enables buffer overflow during length validation.
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.
dbcve · scoped2.0.0
Upgrade CCN-lite to version 2.00 or later which contains the fix. If upgrade is not immediately feasible, apply a patch that adds proper validation of vallen against buffer size before using these values in memory operations.
2.0.0
- 1. Check the current installed version of CCN-lite (e.g., by running 'ccn-lite-ccnb2xml -version' or reviewing package manifests)
- 2. If the version is below 2.0.0, back up any existing CCN-lite configuration files and data
- 3. Download CCN-lite version 2.0.0 or later from the official GitHub repository (github.com/ccn-lite/ccn-lite)
- 4. Install the upgraded version following the project's build and installation instructions (typically involves ./configure, make, make install)
- 5. Verify the installed version is 2.0.0 or later
- 6. Test that the ccn-lite-ccnb2xml utility functions correctly with your workflows
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 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-2017-12468 — 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-2017-12468 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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