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PbcApplication · Pbc Project

CVE-2018-12915

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-06-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 20170302 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
In libpbc.a in PBC through 2017-03-02, there is a buffer over-read in calc_hash in map.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 buffer over-read vulnerability exists in the calc_hash function in map.c of the PBC (Pairing-Based Cryptography) library (libpbc.a). This flaw allows reading beyond allocated buffer boundaries, potentially exposing sensitive memory contents or causing undefined behavior.

MitigationUpdate PBC library to a version after 2017-03-02 that contains the bounds-checking fix for the calc_hash function in map.c, or apply a patch that adds proper boundary validation in the affected function.

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
PbcApplication
Affected:<= 20170302

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. Locate PBC library files
    Search for libpbc.a or libpbc.so files on the system using 'find / -name "libpbc*" 2>/dev/null' or check common library directories like /usr/lib/, /usr/local/lib/, /lib/
    Affected if No PBC library files are found - the library is not present in the environment
  2. Identify PBC version from source or build info
    If source code is available, check the date of map.c or check for version tags/dates in source files, headers, or build documentation. For installed binaries, check for version information in associated package metadata or library version files
    Affected if Version date is 2017-03-02 or earlier, or no version information can be determined (treat as potentially vulnerable)
  3. Inspect calc_hash function source code
    Locate map.c in the PBC source tree and examine the calc_hash function for bounds-checking code. Look for array index validation before memory access operations
    Affected if The function lacks proper boundary validation on array indices, allowing reads beyond buffer limits
  4. Check if application links against libpbc.a
    Identify applications or services that depend on libpbc.a using 'ldd' on binaries or by examining build configuration/dependency files for projects using PBC
    Affected if Applications dynamically or statically link to the PBC library and process untrusted input through the hash calculation code path

The environment is affected if the PBC library (libpbc.a) version is 20170302 or earlier, or if the calc_hash function in map.c lacks proper bounds checking and is used with attacker-controlled input.

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 a release after 20170302
Interim mitigation

Update PBC library to a version after 2017-03-02 that contains the bounds-checking fix for the calc_hash function in map.c, or apply a patch that adds proper boundary validation in the affected function.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence
  1. 1. Locate the calc_hash function in map.c in the PBC library source code
  2. 2. Identify the boundary check issue causing the buffer over-read in the hash calculation
  3. 3. Apply a fix to ensure proper bounds checking before reading memory in the calc_hash function
  4. 4. Recompile libpbc.a with the corrected map.c
  5. 5. Re-link any applications that depend on the patched library
  6. 6. Test the patched library to verify the fix resolves the out-of-bounds read vulnerability

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

Fix this in Pbc 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-2018-12915 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