Debian LinuxOperating system · Debian
CVE-2018-10753
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 · uneditedStack-based buffer overflow in the delayed_output function in music.c in abcm2ps through 8.13.20 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact.
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 confidenceStack-based buffer overflow vulnerability in the delayed_output function in music.c of abcm2ps (versions through 8.13.20). The vulnerability is remotely exploitable without authentication, allowing attackers to overflow a stack-allocated buffer through maliciously crafted input, leading to denial of service or potential 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
= 9.0
FedoraOperating system
= 30= 31= 32<= 8.13.20CVSS 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:3.1/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check if abcm2ps is installedRun 'abcm2ps --version' or 'which abcm2ps' to see if the program is present on the systemAffected if If abcm2ps is not installed, the system is not affected by this specific vulnerability
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Determine installed abcm2ps versionRun 'abcm2ps -v' or check the package manager (dpkg -l abcm2ps for Debian, rpm -qa | grep abcm2ps for Fedora)Affected if If the version is 8.13.20 or lower, the system is vulnerable; if version is unknown or cannot be determined, treat as potentially affected
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Identify if abcm2ps processes input from untrusted sourcesCheck for cron jobs, web services, or scripts that run abcm2ps on ABC files from network sources or user uploads; review /var/log for recent abcm2ps execution with external input filesAffected if If abcm2ps processes ABC notation from untrusted or network-accessible sources, exploitation is possible; if only processing trusted local files, risk is lower but version check still applies
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Inspect the vulnerable source file presenceIf abcm2ps was built from source, locate music.c (typically in the source root or src directory) and check for the delayed_output function using 'grep -n delayed_output music.c'Affected if If the source contains the vulnerable delayed_output function in music.c and version is <= 8.13.20, the build is affected
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Check network exposure of abcm2psReview firewall rules and service configurations for any exposed services that invoke abcm2ps; check if port 80/443 services accept ABC file uploadsAffected if If abcm2ps is network-accessible or accepts input from remote users without validation, the vulnerability is remotely exploitable as noted in the CVE
A system is affected if abcm2ps version 8.13.20 or lower is installed AND the program processes ABC music notation input, especially from untrusted or network 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.
dbcve · scopedUpdate abcm2ps to version 8.13.21 or later. If patching is not immediately feasible, restrict network exposure of abcm2ps and validate ABC music notation input before processing.
abcm2ps version 8.13.21 or later (upgrade from any version <= 8.13.20)
- 1. Check the currently installed version of abcm2ps by running: abcm2ps --version
- 2. Upgrade abcm2ps to version 8.13.21 or later using the package manager (e.g., apt-get install abcm2ps, dnf update abcm2ps, or yum update abcm2ps depending on your distribution)
- 3. Verify the new version is installed by running: abcm2ps --version
- 4. Test that abcm2ps functions correctly with your existing ABC music files
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Debian Linux
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing8.0 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 $5,216.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-10753 — 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-2018-10753 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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