dbcve.org
OpenjpegApplication · Uclouvain

CVE-2017-17479

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-12-08
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
In OpenJPEG 2.3.0, a stack-based buffer overflow was discovered in the pgxtoimage function in jpwl/convert.c. The vulnerability causes an out-of-bounds write, which may lead to remote denial of service or possibly remote code execution.

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 confidence

OpenJPEG 2.3.0 contains a stack-based buffer overflow in the pgxtoimage function within jpwl/convert.c. The vulnerability allows an attacker to trigger an out-of-bounds write by providing specially crafted input to the JPWL (JPEG 2000 Wireless) processing code, potentially leading to denial of service or remote code execution.

MitigationUpgrade to a patched version of OpenJPEG that addresses this vulnerability. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, disable JPWL functionality or implement input validation to restrict processed files.

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
OpenjpegApplication
Affected:= 2.3.0

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
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/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 checks

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

  1. Identify installed OpenJPEG version
    Run 'openjpeg-version' or check the library file version (e.g., libopenjp2.so) using 'ldconfig -p' or inspecting the binary with 'strings' for version strings
    Affected if The installed version is exactly 2.3.0
  2. Determine if JPWL support is compiled in
    Inspect the OpenJPEG build configuration or binary for JPWL-related symbols/functions using 'nm' or 'objdump' on the library, or check build configuration files if available
    Affected if JPWL support is enabled in the build configuration (the vulnerable code path exists)
  3. Check for JPWL file processing capability
    Verify if the system processes JPWL (JPEG 2000 Wireless) format files - this may be indicated by presence of convert.c in jpwl/ directory within the source or by the ability to handle .jpwl files
    Affected if JPWL processing functionality is available and the system can process JPWL-format input files

A user is affected if they have OpenJPEG version 2.3.0 installed with JPWL functionality enabled and are processing JPWL-format image files

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade to a patched version of OpenJPEG that addresses this vulnerability. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, disable JPWL functionality or implement input validation to restrict processed files.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

OpenJPEG 2.3.1 or later

  1. 1. Identify the current OpenJPEG version in your environment by running 'openjpeg_version' or checking your package manager.
  2. 2. Download OpenJPEG version 2.3.1 or later from the official GitHub releases page at github.com/uclouvain/openjpeg/releases.
  3. 3. If building from source, extract the archive and navigate to the source directory.
  4. 4. Run CMake to configure the build: 'cmake . -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release'.
  5. 5. Compile the software: 'make'.
  6. 6. Install the compiled software: 'make install'.
  7. 7. Verify the installed version matches the target version (2.3.1 or later).
  8. 8. Test that your application using OpenJPEG functions correctly with the new version.

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Openjpeg Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing5.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
17.0 hours of engineering $2,970
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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-2017-17479 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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