CVE-2017-16711
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 swf_DefineLosslessBitsTagToImage function in lib/modules/swfbits.c in SWFTools 0.9.2 mishandles an uncompress failure, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and application crash) because of extractDefinitions in lib/readers/swf.c and fill_line_bitmap in lib/devices/render.c, as demonstrated by swfrender.
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 confidenceA NULL pointer dereference vulnerability exists in SWFTools 0.9.2 where the swf_DefineLosslessBitsTagToImage function in lib/modules/swfbits.c fails to properly handle uncompress failures. When decompression fails, a NULL pointer propagates to extractDefinitions in lib/readers/swf.c and fill_line_bitmap in lib/devices/render.c, causing an application crash when processing crafted SWF files via swfrender.
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= 0.9.2CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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 SWFTools versionRun 'swfrender -V' or 'swftools -V' to display the version number, or check the package manager for installed swftools packagesAffected if Version is exactly 0.9.2
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Verify swfrender binary presenceRun 'which swfrender' or 'ls -la /usr/bin/swfrender' to confirm the swfrender utility is installedAffected if swfrender binary exists on the system and version is 0.9.2
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Check for vulnerable library fileInspect lib/modules/swfbits.c source file if available, or check the compiled library for the swf_DefineLosslessBitsTagToImage function using 'nm libswf.so' or similar toolAffected if The function swf_DefineLosslessBitsTagToImage exists without proper NULL pointer validation
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Test swfrender with malformed SWF inputCreate or obtain a crafted SWF file designed to trigger decompression failure and attempt to render it with 'swfrender malicious.swf -o output.png'Affected if swfrender crashes, hangs, or produces a segmentation fault when processing a malformed SWF file
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 dataImplement proper error checking and NULL pointer validation in swf_DefineLosslessBitsTagToImage before using the uncompressed data pointer, ensuring graceful failure handling rather than NULL dereference.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-16711 — 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-2017-16711 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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