CVE-2018-16663
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 Contiki-NG through 4.1. There is a stack-based buffer overflow in parse_relations in os/storage/antelope/aql-parser.c while parsing AQL (storage of relations).
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 confidenceContiki-NG through version 4.1 contains a stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability in the parse_relations function within os/storage/antelope/aql-parser.c. The overflow occurs when parsing AQL (Antelope Query Language) relations, where insufficient bounds checking allows data to be written beyond the allocated stack buffer.
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<= 4.1CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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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Identify if Contiki-NG is in useSearch your codebase or build artifacts for Contiki-NG references, typically in project files, Makefiles, or included headers such as contiki-ng.hAffected if Contiki-NG is present in the environment
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Determine the Contiki-NG versionCheck the version.h or version.c file within the Contiki-NG directory, or inspect git tags if the source is in a repositoryAffected if Version is 4.1 or earlier
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Verify the AQL parser module is compiled inInspect your build configuration or Makefile for references to aql-parser.c or the ANTELOPE_AQL flag, or check if the file os/storage/antelope/aql-parser.c exists in your buildAffected if The AQL parser module is included in the build
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Confirm AQL query processing is enabledSearch for usage of AQL functions such as execute_query or aql_parse in your application code, or check if the Antelope database storage is initialized in your systemAffected if The application processes AQL queries from any source
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Inspect parse_relations for input handlingReview the parse_relations function in os/storage/antelope/aql-parser.c to see if untrusted or user-controlled data can reach this functionAffected if Untrusted input can reach the parse_relations function
A user is affected if they are running Contiki-NG version 4.1 or earlier with the AQL parser module compiled in and processing AQL queries that could contain oversized relation data.
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 dataUpgrade to a patched version of Contiki-NG beyond 4.1, or implement proper bounds validation in the parse_relations function to ensure input sizes do not exceed stack buffer allocations.
- 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-2018-16663 — 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-2018-16663 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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