CVE-2017-12944
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 TIFFReadDirEntryArray function in tif_read.c in LibTIFF 4.0.8 mishandles memory allocation for short files, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (allocation failure and application crash) in the TIFFFetchStripThing function in tif_dirread.c during a tiff2pdf invocation.
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 confidenceLibTIFF 4.0.8 contains a memory allocation vulnerability in TIFFReadDirEntryArray (tif_read.c) that fails to properly handle short/undersized TIFF files, causing allocation failures that crash the application during tiff2pdf operations via the TIFFFetchStripThing function in tif_dirread.c.
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= 4.0.8CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed LibTIFF versionRun 'tiffinfo -v' or check the library file version (e.g., libtiff.so.5 or similar) to determine the exact version numberAffected if The installed version is exactly 4.0.8
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Check if tiff2pdf tool is presentVerify if the tiff2pdf utility is installed on the system by running 'which tiff2pdf' or checking for the binary in the PATHAffected if tiff2pdf is available and would process TIFF files
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Determine if TIFF processing occurs in your environmentReview any applications or scripts that process TIFF images, particularly those that invoke tiff2pdf or use LibTIFF for PDF conversionAffected if tiff2pdf or LibTIFF-based TIFF processing is performed on user-supplied files
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Assess exposure to short/undersized TIFF filesIdentify whether your TIFF processing workflows accept input from untrusted sources that could provide malformed or truncated TIFF filesAffected if External or untrusted TIFF files are processed through tiff2pdf or LibTIFF-based tools
You are affected if LibTIFF version 4.0.8 is installed and tiff2pdf or other LibTIFF tools process TIFF files, especially from untrusted sources that could supply short/undersized files.
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 dataUpdate to patched LibTIFF version; implement input validation and robust error handling for allocation failures in TIFF processing code.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 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 $3,392.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-12944 — 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-2017-12944 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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