CVE-2017-12471
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 · uneditedThe cnb_parse_lev function in CCN-lite before 2.00 allows context-dependent attackers to have unspecified impact by leveraging failure to check for out-of-bounds conditions, which triggers an invalid read in the hexdump function.
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 confidenceAn out-of-bounds read vulnerability exists in the cnb_parse_lev function of CCN-lite versions prior to 2.00. The function fails to properly validate bounds before accessing memory, which causes an invalid read in the hexdump function and allows context-dependent attackers to achieve unspecified impact.
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 installationLocate the CCN-lite installation directory or binary on the system. Common locations include /usr/bin/ccnl, /usr/local/bin/, or within project directories. Use commands like 'which ccnl', 'find / -name ccnl*', or check build/installation logs.Affected if CCN-lite is present on the system
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Determine installed CCN-lite versionCheck the version of CCN-lite by running 'ccnl -v', 'ccnl -version', or examining version.h, VERSION file, or git tags in the source directory. Compare the version number against the 2.0.0 threshold.Affected if The installed version is earlier than 2.0.0 (e.g., 1.x.x series)
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Locate the cnb_parse_lev functionSearch the CCN-lite source code for the cnb_parse_lev function. Use 'grep -r cnb_parse_lev' in the source directory. Examine the function implementation to verify it lacks proper bounds validation before memory access operations.Affected if The function exists in the codebase and contains memory access operations without bounds checking
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Identify usage of vulnerable code pathDetermine if the cnb_parse_lev function is called during normal operation. Review logs, configuration, or documentation to see if the CCN (Content-Centric Networking) parsing features that invoke this function are actively used. Check for log files or debug output that may show hexdump activity.Affected if The parsing functionality that calls cnb_parse_lev is invoked during packet processing or content handling
A system is affected if CCN-lite version is installed and is earlier than 2.0.0, and the vulnerable cnb_parse_lev function is present and gets executed during packet or content parsing operations.
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. If upgrade is not immediately possible, implement input validation and bounds checking in cnb_parse_lev before any memory access operations.
CCN-lite 2.0.0 or later
- 1. Identify the current CCN-lite version in use by checking the project dependencies or running `ccn-lite -version` if available
- 2. Download CCN-lite version 2.0.0 or later from the official GitHub repository (github.com/cn-uofbasel/ccn-lite)
- 3. Replace the existing CCN-lite installation files with the new version
- 4. Rebuild or recompile any applications that link against CCN-lite libraries
- 5. Restart any services using CCN-lite
- 6. Verify the fix by confirming the new version is running and testing the previously vulnerable functionality
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,656.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-12471 — 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-2017-12471 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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