CVE-2017-7244
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 _pcre32_xclass function in pcre_xclass.c in libpcre1 in PCRE 8.40 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (invalid memory read) via a crafted 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 · moderate confidenceA vulnerability exists in the _pcre32_xclass function in pcre_xclass.c of PCRE library version 8.40, where a crafted file can trigger an invalid memory read (out-of-bounds read), leading to denial of service. The issue affects the 32-bit character class handling path in this widely-used regular expression library.
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= 8.40CVSS 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 PCRE library versionRun 'pcre-config --version' or 'dpkg -l | grep libpcre' (Debian/Ubuntu) or 'rpm -qa | grep pcre' (RHEL/CentOS) to retrieve the library versionAffected if The installed version is 8.40 exactly
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Check for PCRE development packagesRun 'ldconfig -p | grep -i pcre' to locate the shared library file, then use 'strings' on the library file or check the package metadata for the precise version numberAffected if The linked library version resolves to 8.40
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Identify applications using PCRERun 'ldd <binary> | grep pcre' on known executables or check application dependency lists to find programs linked against libpcreAffected if Any application is linked to libpcre version 8.40 and processes untrusted input
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Verify 32-bit character class handling is in useReview application logs or documentation to determine if the application processes regular expressions containing 32-bit Unicode character classes (\p{}, \P{}) from untrusted sourcesAffected if The vulnerable code path (_pcre32_xclass) is exercised through crafted 32-bit character class patterns in user-controlled input
A system is affected if it runs PCRE library version 8.40 and any application processes crafted regular expressions with 32-bit character classes from untrusted sources.
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 PCRE library to version 8.41 or later which contains the fix for this vulnerability. Identify all applications and components linking against the vulnerable libpcre1 library and ensure they are rebuilt against the updated version.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-7244 — 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-2017-7244 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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