CVE-2018-10992
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 · uneditedlilypond-invoke-editor in LilyPond 2.19.80 does not validate strings before launching the program specified by the BROWSER environment variable, which allows remote attackers to conduct argument-injection attacks via a crafted URL, as demonstrated by a --proxy-pac-file argument, because the GNU Guile code uses the system Scheme procedure instead of the system* Scheme procedure. NOTE: this vulnerability exists because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2017-17523.
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 confidenceThe lilypond-invoke-editor script in LilyPond 2.19.80 does not validate the BROWSER environment variable before using it in a system call. The vulnerability stems from using the Guile `system` procedure (which invokes a shell) instead of `system*` (which executes directly), allowing argument injection via crafted URLs in the BROWSER variable. This is an incomplete fix of CVE-2017-17523.
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= 2.19.80CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check if LilyPond is installedRun `lilypond --version` or `guile -e '( lilypond-invoke-editor)'` to determine if LilyPond is present on the systemAffected if No output or command not found indicates LilyPond is not installed
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Verify the installed LilyPond versionExamine the version output from `lilypond --version` - look for exact version 2.19.80Affected if The version displayed is exactly 2.19.80 - other versions are not affected by this specific CVE
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Locate the lilypond-invoke-editor scriptSearch for the file named `lilypond-invoke-editor` in the LilyPond installation directory, typically found in the `bin/` or `scripts/` subdirectory of the LilyPond installation pathAffected if The script exists at the expected location within the LilyPond 2.19.80 installation
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Examine the script for vulnerable system callOpen the lilypond-invoke-editor script and search for usage of the `system` Scheme procedure (not `system*`) combined with the BROWSER environment variableAffected if The script contains a line that passes the BROWSER variable directly to the `system` procedure without using `system*` and without validating the variable contents
You are affected if LilyPond version 2.19.80 is installed AND the lilypond-invoke-editor script uses the unsafe `system` procedure to execute the BROWSER environment variable without validation.
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 dataReplace the `system` Scheme procedure with `system*` and implement strict validation of the BROWSER environment variable contents before execution to prevent argument injection.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-10992 — 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-2018-10992 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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