Contiki Ng.Operating system · Contiki Ng

CVE-2018-16664

HIGH · 7.0 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-09-07
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 4.1 or later.
See remediation →
72/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
An issue was discovered in Contiki-NG through 4.1. There is a buffer overflow in lvm_set_type in os/storage/antelope/lvm.c while parsing AQL (lvm_set_op, lvm_set_relation, lvm_set_operand).

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 overflow vulnerability exists in the lvm_set_type function in os/storage/antelope/lvm.c of Contiki-NG through version 4.1. The overflow occurs during AQL (Antelope Query Language) parsing when handling the lvm_set_op, lvm_set_relation, and lvm_set_operand functions, allowing potential memory corruption during query processing.

MitigationUpgrade Contiki-NG to a version beyond 4.1 that includes the patch, or implement proper bounds checking in the AQL parsing functions (lvm_set_op, lvm_set_relation, lvm_set_operand) before copying data into fixed-size buffers in lvm_set_type.

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
Contiki Ng.Operating system
Affected:<= 4.1

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
Local
Complexity
High
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/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 checks

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

  1. Identify Contiki-NG deployment
    Determine if the target system runs Contiki-NG as its embedded operating system. This may require reviewing firmware documentation, build configurations, or system specifications.
    Affected if The system is confirmed to use Contiki-NG as the OS
  2. Check Contiki-NG version
    Locate the Contiki-NG version information in the firmware build files, release documentation, or version headers. Compare the installed version against the affected range of <= 4.1.
    Affected if The installed Contiki-NG version is 4.1 or earlier
  3. Verify antelope storage module inclusion
    Inspect the compiled firmware or build system to confirm the presence of os/storage/antelope/lvm.c in the image. This module implements the database functionality.
    Affected if The antelope/lvm.c module is compiled into the firmware
  4. Confirm AQL query processing is active
    Determine whether the system performs AQL (Antelope Query Language) query operations using the lvm_set_op, lvm_set_relation, or lvm_set_operand functions. Review application code that invokes database queries.
    Affected if The system executes AQL queries against the antelope database storage layer

A system is affected if it runs Contiki-NG version 4.1 or earlier, includes the antelope storage module, and processes AQL queries which trigger the vulnerable lvm_set_type function in lvm.c.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 4.1
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Contiki-NG to a version beyond 4.1 that includes the patch, or implement proper bounds checking in the AQL parsing functions (lvm_set_op, lvm_set_relation, lvm_set_operand) before copying data into fixed-size buffers in lvm_set_type.

Fix this in Contiki Ng. Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2018-16664 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