Debian LinuxOperating system · Debian
CVE-2017-14441
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 · uneditedAn exploitable code execution vulnerability exists in the ICO image rendering functionality of SDL2_image-2.0.2. A specially crafted ICO image can cause an integer overflow, cascading to a heap overflow resulting in code execution. An attacker can display a specially crafted image to trigger this vulnerability.
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 heap overflow vulnerability exists in SDL2_image 2.0.2's ICO image parser where an integer overflow during ICO rendering cascades into a heap buffer overflow, potentially allowing remote code execution when a specially crafted ICO image is displayed.
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
Debian LinuxOperating system
= 7.0= 8.0= 9.0= 2.0.2CVSS 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
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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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Identify SDL2_image library versionRun 'pkg-config --modversion SDL2_image' or check the library file directly with 'strings libSDL2_image.so | grep -i 2\.0\.2' to locate the compiled version stringAffected if The installed version is exactly 2.0.2
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Confirm ICO image support is activeSearch application code or configuration for calls to IMG_Load, IMG_LoadICO, or IMG_Load_RW with .ico file extensions, or inspect linked libraries with 'ldd' to see if SDL2_image is loadedAffected if The application loads or processes ICO format images using SDL2_image functions
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Verify ICO file input pathsReview application logs, configuration, or network intake paths for .ico files originating from untrusted sourcesAffected if ICO files from external or untrusted sources can be loaded by the application
You are affected if SDL2_image version 2.0.2 is in use AND your application processes ICO image files from any source.
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 SDL2_image to the latest version to obtain the patch for this vulnerability. If upgrading is not immediately feasible, implement input validation on ICO files before rendering and consider disabling ICO support in untrusted contexts.
Fix this in Debian Linux
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,096.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-14441 — 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-2017-14441 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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