CVE-2017-18009
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 · uneditedIn OpenCV 3.3.1, a heap-based buffer over-read exists in the function cv::HdrDecoder::checkSignature in modules/imgcodecs/src/grfmt_hdr.cpp.
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 heap-based buffer over-read vulnerability exists in OpenCV 3.3.1 within the cv::HdrDecoder::checkSignature function in the HDR image decoder (modules/imgcodecs/src/grfmt_hdr.cpp). The function fails to properly validate buffer boundaries when checking the signature of HDR image files, allowing read operations beyond allocated heap memory. This could enable attackers to read sensitive memory contents or cause denial of service by providing specially crafted HDR 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= 3.3.1CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify OpenCV installation and versionRun 'pkg-config --modversion opencv' or check your package manager for installed OpenCV packages. If built from source, check the version.h header or the output of 'opencv_version' command if available.Affected if The installed version is exactly 3.3.1
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Locate the vulnerable HDR decoder moduleCheck if the file modules/imgcodecs/src/grfmt_hdr.cpp exists in your OpenCV installation directory, or locate libopencv_imgcodecs.so (Linux) or opencv_imgcodecs.dll (Windows) in your OpenCV lib directory.Affected if The HDR image codec module (imgcodecs) is present in your installation for version 3.3.1
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Determine if HDR image processing is enabledInspect your application code or environment to see if the imgcodecs module is loaded or if functions like cv::imread() are being called on .hdr files, or check if 'HDR' appears in your OpenCV build configuration.Affected if The imgcodecs module is loaded and HDR file decoding is permitted in your environment
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Identify active HDR file processingSearch your application's input data paths, file processing logs, or runtime environment for references to .hdr files or HDR image format handling.Affected if Your application processes or can process HDR image files using the affected OpenCV version
You are affected if OpenCV version 3.3.1 is installed and the imgcodecs module with HDR decoding capability is enabled or in use in your environment.
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 OpenCV to a patched version beyond 3.3.1 that addresses this vulnerability. If immediate patching is not feasible, restrict or disable HDR image decoding and validate all HDR file inputs before processing.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-18009 — 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-2017-18009 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
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