CVE-2018-12917
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 libpbc.a in PBC through 2017-03-02, there is a heap-based buffer over-read in _pbcM_ip_new 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 confidenceA heap-based buffer over-read vulnerability exists in the _pbcM_ip_new function in map.c within libpbc.a of the PBC (Pairing-Based Cryptography) library through 2017-03-02. The function reads beyond the allocated heap buffer boundaries, potentially allowing disclosure of sensitive memory contents or causing undefined behavior.
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<= 20170302CVSS 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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Locate PBC library files in the environmentSearch for libpbc.a or libpbc.so files on the system using commands like: find / -name 'libpbc*' 2>/dev/null or check common library paths (/usr/lib, /usr/local/lib, /opt)Affected if No PBC library files are found, then this CVE does not apply to your environment
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Determine the installed PBC versionCheck for version information in the PBC source or installed files - look for a VERSION file, check the library's metadata, or examine the modification date of the source files if compiled locally. The vulnerable version is dated 20170302 or earlier.Affected if The PBC library version is 20170302 or earlier, or the library source code predates March 2, 2017
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Identify applications or services that link against libpbcSearch executable files that depend on libpbc by running: ldd on binaries or checking build configurations for references to -lpbc, or grep for 'pbc' in /etc/ld.so.conf files and application dependenciesAffected if Applications or services are linked against the vulnerable PBC library version
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Check if the vulnerable function _pbcM_ip_new is reachableReview application code or configuration to determine if the _pbcM_ip_new function in map.c is actually called during runtime - this function handles internal memory/pairing operations, so impact depends on specific cryptographic usageAffected if The application exercises code paths that invoke the _pbcM_ip_new function with input that could trigger the buffer over-read
Your environment is affected if you have PBC library version 20170302 or earlier that is actively used by applications, particularly in contexts where the _pbcM_ip_new function processes external or user-controlled input related to pairing-based cryptographic operations.
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 dataUpdate to a patched version of PBC library that addresses the bounds checking in _pbcM_ip_new, or apply a bounds-check patch to map.c. Audit all dependent applications for impact.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-12917 — 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-2018-12917 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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