CVE-2018-11498
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 · uneditedIn Lizard v1.0 and LZ5 v2.0 (the prior release, before the product was renamed), there is an unchecked buffer size during a memcpy in the Lizard_decompress_LIZv1 function (lib/lizard_decompress_liz.h). Remote attackers can leverage this vulnerability to cause a denial of service via a crafted input file, as well as achieve remote code execution.
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 confidenceA buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the Lizard_decompress_LIZv1 function in lib/lizard_decompress_liz.h where a memcpy operation is performed without validating the source buffer size against the destination buffer size. Attackers can trigger this via specially crafted compressed files, leading to denial of service or potentially remote 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= 1.0= 2.0CVSS 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
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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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Identify Lizard library installationSearch for files named liblizard, lizard, lz5, or headers containing lizard decompress functions. Check package managers, project dependencies, or library directories for these files.Affected if The Lizard or LZ5 library is present in the environment
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Determine installed Lizard versionCheck the version of the installed Lizard or LZ5 library via library file metadata, version headers, or package version information. Compare against affected versions: Lizard = 1.0, LZ5 = 2.0Affected if The installed version is exactly 1.0 for Lizard or exactly 2.0 for LZ5
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Identify use of Lizard_decompress_LIZv1 functionSearch source code or binary imports for calls to Lizard_decompress_LIZv1 or Lizard_decompress_liz function from lib/lizard_decompress_liz.h. Review decompression code paths.Affected if Code calls the vulnerable Lizard_decompress_LIZv1 function to decompress LIZv1 compressed data
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Verify file processing of compressed inputCheck if the application processes compressed files from untrusted sources using Lizard/LZ5 decompression. Review file upload handling, archive processing, or network-received compressed data paths.Affected if The vulnerable decompression function processes untrusted or externally-sourced LIZv1 compressed files
A user is affected if they have Lizard version 1.0 or LZ5 version 2.0 installed and use the Lizard_decompress_LIZv1 function to decompress potentially untrusted LIZv1 compressed files.
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 dataApply bounds checking to validate buffer sizes before the memcpy operation in Lizard_decompress_LIZv1, or upgrade to a patched version of Lizard/LZ5 if available. Implement input validation for decompressed data lengths.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing6.0 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 $5,312.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-11498 — 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-2018-11498 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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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.
- 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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