Debian LinuxOperating system · Debian
CVE-2017-14450
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 · uneditedA buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the GIF image parsing functionality of SDL2_image-2.0.2. A specially crafted GIF image can lead to a buffer overflow on a global section. An attacker can display an 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 buffer overflow vulnerability exists in SDL2_image 2.0.2's GIF image parsing functionality. Specially crafted GIF files with malformed data can overflow a global buffer when parsed and displayed, potentially allowing an attacker to overwrite adjacent memory.
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
- None
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/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 installationOn Debian-based systems, run: dpkg -l | grep -i sdl2-image. On other Linux systems, check for libSDL2_image.so files in /usr/lib/ or search using: find /usr -name 'libSDL2_image*' 2>/dev/nullAffected if SDL2_image library is present on the system
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Determine installed SDL2_image versionRun: dpkg -l | grep -i sdl2-image (Debian) or check the library file directly with: ls -la /usr/lib/*/libSDL2_image* and compare against version 2.0.2Affected if The installed version is 2.0.2 exactly
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Verify GIF parsing support is enabledCheck if the GIF image format loader is compiled into the library or present: locate IMG_gif.c in the source tree, or verify the library was built with GIF support by checking: strings /usr/lib/*/libSDL2_image.so* | grep -i gifAffected if GIF support is compiled into SDL2_image and available for use
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Identify applications using SDL2_image for image loadingSearch for binaries that link to SDL2_image: ldd $(which <application>) 2>/dev/null | grep SDL2_image, or check for applications in common paths that process user-supplied imagesAffected if Applications using SDL2_image to load images exist and could be used to process untrusted GIF files
A system is affected if SDL2_image version 2.0.2 is installed with GIF parsing support enabled, and applications process GIF files through this library.
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 SDL2_image to a version containing the security fix. If an update is unavailable, implement input validation on GIF files before processing, or disable GIF support in untrusted contexts.
Fix this in Debian Linux
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 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 $5,120.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-14450 — 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-2017-14450 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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