dbcve.org
Debian LinuxOperating system · Debian

CVE-2018-0487

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-02-13
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.3.22 / 2.1.10 or later.
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
ARM mbed TLS before 1.3.22, before 2.1.10, and before 2.7.0 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (buffer overflow) via a crafted certificate chain that is mishandled during RSASSA-PSS signature verification within a TLS or DTLS session.

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

Buffer overflow vulnerability in ARM mbed TLS during RSASSA-PSS signature verification when processing a crafted certificate chain within TLS or DTLS sessions. The flaw allows remote attackers to potentially execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service.

MitigationUpgrade mbed TLS to version 1.3.22 or later (1.x branch), 2.1.10 or later (2.1.x branch), or 2.7.0 or later (2.x branch). Until patching is feasible, consider disabling RSASSA-PSS signature algorithms in TLS/DTLS configurations as a temporary workaround.

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:= 8.0= 9.0
Mbed TlsApplication
Affected:>= 1.3.8, < 1.3.22>= 2.1.0, < 2.1.10>= 2.2.0, < 2.7.0

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 mbed TLS is installed
    Check for the presence of mbed TLS libraries: look for libmbedtls, libmbedcrypto, libmbedx509 files in /usr/lib/ or via package manager (dpkg -l | grep mbed or equivalent). Also check if applications link against mbed TLS using ldd on relevant binaries.
    Affected if mbed TLS libraries or packages are present on the system
  2. Determine the installed mbed TLS version
    Run `mbedtls_version` if available, or check package version via dpkg/rpm, or inspect the library file version strings using strings or readelf.
    Affected if The version falls within 1.3.8 to 1.3.21, 2.1.0 to 2.1.9, or 2.2.0 to 2.6.x (all versions before the fixed releases)
  3. Verify TLS or DTLS is in use
    Identify any service or application using mbed TLS for TLS/DTLS connections (web servers, VPN clients, IoT devices). Check configuration files for ssl/tls settings and active listening ports (e.g., 443, 4433, 4434 for DTLS).
    Affected if TLS or DTLS sessions are established using the vulnerable mbed TLS library
  4. Check if RSASSA-PSS signature algorithms are enabled
    Inspect the TLS configuration or application settings for supported signature algorithms. Look for references to sha256WithRSAEncryption, sha384WithRSAEncryption, sha512WithRSAEncryption in certificates, or verify if the client/server advertises RSASSA-PSS support in Hello messages. In mbed TLS config.h, check for MBEDTLS_RSA_C and algorithm settings.
    Affected if RSASSA-PSS signature algorithms are enabled or negotiated in TLS/DTLS connections

You are affected if mbed TLS is present, the version is within the affected ranges, TLS/DTLS is active, and RSASSA-PSS signature algorithms are available or in use for certificate verification.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 1.3.22 / 2.1.10 / 2.7.0 or later
Fixed in 1.3.222.1.102.7.0
Interim mitigation

Upgrade mbed TLS to version 1.3.22 or later (1.x branch), 2.1.10 or later (2.1.x branch), or 2.7.0 or later (2.x branch). Until patching is feasible, consider disabling RSASSA-PSS signature algorithms in TLS/DTLS configurations as a temporary workaround.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade mbed TLS to 1.3.22, 2.1.10, or 2.7.0 (or later) depending on the major branch in use

  1. Identify the mbed TLS library package in use (e.g., libmbedtls, mbedtls, or polarssl) via package manager or application dependencies
  2. Update package manager cache: 'apt-get update' (Debian/Ubuntu) or equivalent
  3. Upgrade mbed TLS to version 1.3.22 or later, 2.1.10 or later, or 2.7.0 or later using: 'apt-get install libmbedtls<version>' or 'apt-get upgrade libmbedtls'
  4. Alternatively, if using mbed TLS as a dependency of another package, upgrade that parent package
  5. Verify the installed version matches a fixed release: 'dpkg -l | grep mbed' or 'mbedtls_version' binary
  6. Rebuild and redeploy any applications that statically link the old mbed TLS library
  7. Test TLS/DTLS functionality to confirm the upgrade does not break existing connections
Caveat Minor releases typically maintain backward compatibility; however, verify application-specific TLS behavior after upgrade as signature verification logic may have changed

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

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-2018-0487 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