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Ubuntu LinuxOperating system · Canonical

CVE-2018-11685

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-06-04
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
95/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges

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
Liblouis 3.5.0 has a stack-based Buffer Overflow in the function compileHyphenation in compileTranslationTable.c.

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 · moderate confidence

A stack-based buffer overflow exists in Liblouis 3.5.0 within the compileHyphenation function in compileTranslationTable.c. The vulnerability occurs during compilation of hyphenation tables, where insufficient bounds checking allows overflowing a stack-allocated buffer. This could allow remote code execution if an attacker can supply a specially crafted translation table.

MitigationUpdate Liblouis to version 3.6.0 or later which contains the patch for this vulnerability. If updates are not possible, ensure untrusted translation tables are not processed by the library.

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
Ubuntu LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 14.04= 16.04= 17.10= 18.04
LiblouisApplication
Affected:= 3.5.0
LeapOperating system
Affected:= 15.0

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
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check installed Liblouis library version
    Run `dpkg -l | grep liblouis` on Ubuntu, `rpm -qa | grep liblouis` on openSUSE, or `lou_checktable --version` if available. Alternatively, check the shared library file with `ldconfig -p | grep liblouis` and then inspect the library file metadata.
    Affected if The installed version is 3.5.0 exactly, or falls within the affected version range for your distribution (Ubuntu 14.04/16.04/17.10/18.04 or openSUSE Leap 15.0 with Liblouis 3.5.0).
  2. Identify if Liblouis is used for hyphenation table compilation
    Search for applications or scripts that call liblouis functions, particularly compileTranslationTable or compileHyphenation. Look for command-line tools like lou_translate or lou_checktable being invoked, and check any custom code that links against liblouis.
    Affected if Your environment uses Liblouis to compile or process hyphenation tables from translation table files.
  3. Check for presence of custom or untrusted translation tables
    Locate any .dic, .log, or translation table files processed by Liblouis in your environment. Search for files in typical locations: /usr/share/liblouis/, /usr/lib/liblouis/, or application-specific directories. Identify if any of these tables are obtained from untrusted sources.
    Affected if Your system processes hyphenation tables from sources you do not fully trust or control, as the vulnerability is triggered during compilation of specially crafted translation tables.
  4. Verify if any automated processes invoke liblouis table compilation
    Review cron jobs, systemd services, or application logic that may trigger liblouis table compilation. Check logs for lou_checktable or similar tool execution. Look for Braille-related applications or accessibility tools that may compile tables at runtime.
    Affected if Automated or on-demand compilation of hyphenation tables occurs in your environment, particularly with tables that could be attacker-controlled.

You are affected if Liblouis version 3.5.0 is installed and your environment compiles or processes hyphenation tables, especially from untrusted sources.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update Liblouis to version 3.6.0 or later which contains the patch for this vulnerability. If updates are not possible, ensure untrusted translation tables are not processed by the library.

Fix this in Ubuntu Linux Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,380
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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-2018-11685 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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