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AutotraceApplication · Autotrace Project

CVE-2017-9151

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-05-23
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
libautotrace.a in AutoTrace 0.31.1 has a heap-based buffer overflow in the pnm_load_ascii function in input-pnm.c:303:12.

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 heap-based buffer overflow exists in the pnm_load_ascii function within input-pnm.c of AutoTrace 0.31.1's libautotrace.a library. The vulnerability occurs at line 303:12 when processing ASCII-formatted PNM (portable anymap) image files, likely due to insufficient bounds checking when reading pixel data into a heap-allocated buffer.

MitigationUpgrade to a patched version of AutoTrace that addresses the heap overflow in pnm_load_ascii, or implement proper bounds checking in the affected function to validate input sizes against allocated buffer lengths before writing pixel data.

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
AutotraceApplication
Affected:= 0.31.1

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 if AutoTrace is installed
    Run 'autotrace --version' or check for the presence of the autotrace binary in common paths (/usr/bin/autotrace, /usr/local/bin/autotrace)
    Affected if AutoTrace version 0.31.1 is returned or the binary exists without a version higher than 0.31.1
  2. Locate the vulnerable library
    Search for libautotrace.a in the system: 'find / -name libautotrace.a 2>/dev/null' or check package contents if installed via package manager
    Affected if libautotrace.a from version 0.31.1 is found on the system
  3. Confirm the vulnerable source file exists
    Check if input-pnm.c from the AutoTrace source is present: 'find /path/to/autotrace/source -name input-pnm.c'
    Affected if The file input-pnm.c containing the pnm_load_ascii function exists in the installed or compiled source
  4. Identify PNM file processing activity
    Monitor or review logs/processes that involve AutoTrace processing PNM/PNM/PNB/PBM/PGM/PPM image files, or check if any automation scripts invoke autotrace on PNM-format input
    Affected if AutoTrace is being used to process ASCII-formatted PNM image files (portable anymap format)
  5. Check for heap-related crashes or anomalies
    Review system logs, crash dumps, or application logs for heap buffer overflow errors occurring when AutoTrace processes image files, particularly mentioning memory corruption in pnm_load_ascii
    Affected if Heap corruption errors or crashes are logged during PNM file processing, indicating potential exploitation of the overflow

A user is affected if AutoTrace version 0.31.1 is installed and actively processing ASCII-formatted PNM image files using the vulnerable pnm_load_ascii function in input-pnm.c.

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 AutoTrace that addresses the heap overflow in pnm_load_ascii, or implement proper bounds checking in the affected function to validate input sizes against allocated buffer lengths before writing pixel data.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest stable AutoTrace release (version 0.32.0 or later)

  1. 1. Identify all systems running AutoTrace version 0.31.1
  2. 2. Check the current AutoTrace version on affected systems using: autotrace --version
  3. 3. Obtain a newer version of AutoTrace from the official project repository or your Linux distribution's package manager
  4. 4. Upgrade AutoTrace to the latest stable version available
  5. 5. Verify the upgrade was successful by running: autotrace --version
  6. 6. Test that any workflows relying on AutoTrace still function correctly with the new version
Caveat Minor: Verify existing bitmap-to-vector workflows function correctly after upgrade as API/behavior may have subtle changes

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

Fix this in Autotrace Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
24.0 hours of engineering $4,160
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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-2017-9151 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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