Debian LinuxOperating system · Debian
CVE-2017-2896
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 · uneditedAn exploitable out-of-bounds write vulnerability exists in the xls_mergedCells function of libxls 1.4. . A specially crafted XLS file can cause a memory corruption resulting in remote code execution. An attacker can send malicious XLS file 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 · high confidenceAn out-of-bounds write vulnerability exists in the xls_mergedCells function of libxls 1.4 when parsing specially crafted XLS files. The vulnerability allows memory corruption by writing beyond allocated buffer boundaries, which can lead to remote code execution.
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
= 10.0= 1.4CVSS 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
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Confirm libxls library is installedSearch for libxls shared library files: find /usr -name 'libxls*' 2>/dev/null or check package manager: dpkg -l | grep libxls or rpm -qa | grep libxlsAffected if No libxls library found on the system, then not affected
-
Identify the installed libxls versionRun: pkg-config --modversion libxls or check the library file version: ls -la /path/to/libxls* or query package database: dpkg -s libxls or rpm -qi libxlsAffected if Version is 1.4.x (any 1.4 release) - compare your installed version to the affected range of 1.4
-
Check for applications using libxlsSearch for binaries or applications that link to libxls: ldd /path/to/application | grep libxls or review application dependenciesAffected if Applications process XLS files using libxls - the vulnerability triggers when parsing specially crafted XLS files with merged cells
-
Inspect XLS file processing behaviorIf you have access to logs or traffic, monitor for XLS file parsing operations - the xls_mergedCells function processes merged cell records in XLS filesAffected if User opens or processes untrusted XLS files using libxls-based applications - the vulnerability is triggered during XLS parsing
You are affected if libxls version 1.4 is installed AND applications using it process XLS files, particularly files that may contain merged cells.
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 dataAvoid opening untrusted or unverified XLS files with libxls 1.4; apply vendor patches or upgrade to a fixed version of libxls when released.
Fix this in Debian Linux
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,408.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-2896 — 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-2017-2896 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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.
- 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