CVE-2018-14740
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 · uneditedAn issue was discovered in libpbc.a in cloudwu PBC through 2017-03-02. A SEGV can occur in set_field_one in bootstrap.c while making a query.
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 segmentation fault (SEGV) occurs in the set_field_one function in bootstrap.c of the PBC (Protocol Buffers C) library when processing certain queries, likely due to NULL pointer dereference or invalid memory access during query handling.
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<= 2017-03-02CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 if PBC library is installedSearch for PBC library files: look for libpbc.* files in standard library directories (/usr/lib, /usr/local/lib) or check package managers (dpkg -l | grep pbc, rpm -qa | grep pbc, brew list pbc)Affected if PBC library is present on the system
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Determine PBC library versionCheck the library version via pkg-config --modversion pbc, or examine the library binary with strings or file version info, or query the package manager for the installed version and dateAffected if Version is prior to 2017-03-02 or the library binary predates the patched release
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Verify the vulnerable bootstrap.c code is presentIf PBC library source is available, check bootstrap.c for the set_field_one function around the lines handling field processing; look for the NULL pointer dereference vulnerability pattern in that functionAffected if The set_field_one function in bootstrap.c contains the unauthenticated query handling code without the NULL check fix
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Confirm query processing is in useMonitor application logs or code that invokes PBC parsing functions (particularly those calling into bootstrap.c) when processing external protobuf queriesAffected if The application processes protobuf messages using the vulnerable PBC library code path
The environment is affected if PBC library version <= 2017-03-02 is installed and processes protobuf queries that trigger the set_field_one function in bootstrap.c.
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 the PBC library if available; otherwise, implement input validation and error handling around library calls to prevent the crash from propagating.
- 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.
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-14740 — 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-2018-14740 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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