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Debian LinuxOperating system · Debian

CVE-2017-6888

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2018-04-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 1.3.2 or later.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
No privileges

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
An error in the "read_metadata_vorbiscomment_()" function (src/libFLAC/stream_decoder.c) in FLAC version 1.3.2 can be exploited to cause a memory leak via a specially crafted FLAC file.

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

A memory leak vulnerability exists in the read_metadata_vorbiscomment_() function in libFLAC stream_decoder.c of FLAC 1.3.2. When processing a specially crafted FLAC file with malicious Vorbis comment metadata, the function fails to properly free allocated memory, leading to resource exhaustion over repeated file processing.

MitigationUpdate FLAC library to version 1.3.3 or later which contains the fix for this memory leak. If immediate patching is not possible, consider limiting or validating FLAC file processing in untrusted contexts.

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
Affected:= 9.0
FedoraOperating system
Affected:= 32= 33
FlacApplication
Affected:<= 1.3.2

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/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 checks

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

  1. Identify installed FLAC library version
    Run 'flac --version' for the command-line tool, or check the libFLAC shared library version with 'dpkg -l libflac*' (Debian) or 'rpm -qi flac' (Fedora). On Linux systems, also check /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libFLAC.so* or the equivalent library path.
    Affected if The version is 1.3.2 or lower, or the version cannot be determined (unpatched installation).
  2. Locate the vulnerable libFLAC library file
    Find the libFLAC shared library on the system: typical paths include /usr/lib/libFLAC.so*, /usr/lib64/libFLAC.so*, or /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libFLAC.so*. Use 'ldconfig -p | grep FLAC' to list loaded FLAC libraries.
    Affected if The library exists and its version (if discoverable) is <= 1.3.2, or the library file was not updated after the 1.3.3 fix release.
  3. Determine if applications process FLAC files with Vorbis comments
    Audit applications or services that handle FLAC audio files. Check configuration files, logs, or code that references FLAC file processing. Look for workflows that accept FLAC files from untrusted sources (e.g., media servers, file upload handlers, audio analysis tools).
    Affected if The environment processes FLAC files and the FLAC library version is vulnerable (<=1.3.2), especially when accepting files from users or untrusted sources.
  4. Verify the vulnerable code presence in compiled library
    If binary analysis is possible, use 'strings' or 'nm' on the libFLAC binary to search for the function name 'read_metadata_vorbiscomment' or related metadata handling strings. Compare with patched library if available.
    Affected if The function is present and the library version has not been patched to 1.3.3 or later.

A user is affected if their system has FLAC library version 1.3.2 or lower AND processes FLAC files containing Vorbis comment metadata, particularly from untrusted sources.

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 1.3.2
Interim mitigation

Update FLAC library to version 1.3.3 or later which contains the fix for this memory leak. If immediate patching is not possible, consider limiting or validating FLAC file processing in untrusted contexts.

Fix this in Debian Linux Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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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-2017-6888 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