CVE-2017-12481
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 find_option function in option.cc in Ledger 3.1.1 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (stack-based buffer overflow and application crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact via a crafted 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 · moderate confidenceA stack-based buffer overflow exists in the find_option function in option.cc of Ledger 3.1.1. The vulnerability is triggered when processing a crafted input file that causes the function to write beyond the bounds of a stack-allocated buffer, leading to application crash (DoS) or potential 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= 3.1.1CVSS 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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Check if Ledger CLI is installedRun 'ledger --version' or 'which ledger' to verify Ledger is present on the systemAffected if Ledger CLI is not installed - not affected
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Determine installed Ledger versionRun 'ledger --version' and capture the version number returnedAffected if Version is exactly 3.1.1 - potentially affected
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Verify Ledger binary matches upstream 3.1.1Compare the installed binary hash or build info against the official Ledger 3.1.1 release if availableAffected if Binary is built from exactly the 3.1.1 source - potentially affected
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Identify input files processed by LedgerReview any automated scripts, cron jobs, or workflows that run Ledger against input files (such as .ledger, .dat, or journal files)Affected if Ledger processes any input files, especially from untrusted sources - vulnerable code path could be triggered
System is affected only if Ledger CLI version 3.1.1 is installed and is used to parse input files, which triggers the stack-based buffer overflow in the find_option function.
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 to a patched version of Ledger that addresses the buffer overflow in find_option. If upgrade is not immediately feasible, implement input validation and bounds checking on file parsing operations, and restrict processing of untrusted input files.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,408.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-12481 — 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-2017-12481 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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- 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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