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MuslApplication · Musl Libc

CVE-2017-15650

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-10-19
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 1.1.6 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
musl libc before 1.1.17 has a buffer overflow via crafted DNS replies because dns_parse_callback in network/lookup_name.c does not restrict the number of addresses, and thus an attacker can provide an unexpected number by sending A records in a reply to an AAAA query.

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 confidence

musl libc before 1.1.17 contains a buffer overflow in dns_parse_callback in network/lookup_name.c. The function does not validate or restrict the number of addresses in DNS responses, allowing an attacker controlling a DNS server to send excess A records in reply to an AAAA query, causing a buffer overflow.

MitigationUpgrade musl libc to version 1.1.17 or later to obtain the patched code that properly restricts address counts in DNS responses.

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
MuslApplication
Affected:<= 1.1.6

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm musl libc is in use
    Run `ldd --version` and look for 'musl' in the output, or check for /lib/ld-musl-*.so.1 or /usr/lib/ld-musl-*.so.1
    Affected if The system uses musl libc as its primary C library
  2. Identify musl libc version
    Run `musl-gcc --version` if available, or check the soname of the dynamic linker: `ls -l /lib/ld-musl-*.so.1` or examine the library file directly with `strings /lib/ld-musl-*.so.1 | grep '^1\.'`
    Affected if The installed version is 1.1.6 or earlier
  3. Compare against affected version range
    Parse the version string found in the previous step and compare numerically to 1.1.6
    Affected if The version number is less than or equal to 1.1.6
  4. Verify DNS resolution capability
    Check if the system performs DNS queries by reviewing running services, containers, or applications that perform name resolution using musl's resolver
    Affected if The system performs DNS queries using musl's built-in resolver (network/lookup_name.c)

You are affected if your system uses musl libc version 1.1.6 or earlier and performs DNS resolution using the vulnerable dns_parse_callback function.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 1.1.6
Interim mitigation

Upgrade musl libc to version 1.1.17 or later to obtain the patched code that properly restricts address counts in DNS responses.

Fix this in Musl Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2017-15650 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data