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UnixodbcApplication

CVE-2018-7409

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-02-22
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.3.5 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 unixODBC before 2.3.5, there is a buffer overflow in the unicode_to_ansi_copy() function in DriverManager/__info.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 · high confidence

A buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the unicode_to_ansi_copy() function within unixODBC's DriverManager/__info.c component. The function performs Unicode to ANSI string conversion without proper bounds checking, allowing an attacker to overflow the destination buffer. This occurs in versions of unixODBC prior to 2.3.5 and could lead to code execution or denial of service.

MitigationUpgrade unixODBC to version 2.3.5 or later. If immediate patching is not feasible, restrict network exposure of ODBC services and validate input before passing to ODBC driver functions.

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
UnixodbcApplication
Affected:< 2.3.5

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. Check if unixODBC is installed
    Run 'which isql' or 'odbc_config --version' to locate the unixODBC binaries and tools
    Affected if Command returns empty or binary not found means unixODBC may not be installed
  2. Determine installed unixODBC version
    Run 'odbc_config --version' or check the DriverManager library version with 'ldd' on isql binary and look for libodbc.so, or check package manager: 'dpkg -l libodbc' (Debian) or 'rpm -qi unixODBC' (RHEL)
    Affected if Version is less than 2.3.5 (e.g., 2.3.4, 2.3.3, 2.3.2, etc.)
  3. Verify the vulnerable DriverManager component exists
    Check for the presence of DriverManager/__info.c or the compiled DriverManager library: look for libodbcdrivermanager.so or libodbc.so in /usr/lib or /usr/local/lib
    Affected if The DriverManager component is present in the installation
  4. Confirm unicode_to_ansi_copy function is in use
    If possible, check if ODBC applications connect to databases using unicode-to-ansi conversion; this function is called during such conversions in the DriverManager
    Affected if ODBC connections perform Unicode to ANSI string conversion (common in driver operations)

If unixODBC is installed with a version lower than 2.3.5 and the DriverManager component is present, the environment is vulnerable to CVE-2018-7409.

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 2.3.5 or later
Fixed in 2.3.5
Interim mitigation

Upgrade unixODBC to version 2.3.5 or later. If immediate patching is not feasible, restrict network exposure of ODBC services and validate input before passing to ODBC driver functions.

Recommended fix High confidence

unixODBC 2.3.5 or later

  1. Check the current unixODBC version installed (e.g., 'odbcinst -q -d' or 'odbc_config --version')
  2. Upgrade unixODBC to version 2.3.5 or later using your system's package manager (e.g., 'sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install unixodbc' for Debian/Ubuntu, or 'sudo yum update unixODBC' for RHEL/CentOS)
  3. If building from source, download unixODBC 2.3.5 or later from sourceforge.net and compile with standard './configure && make && make install'
  4. Verify the new version is installed: 'odbc_config --version' should show 2.3.5 or higher
  5. Restart any services or applications that use ODBC connections to ensure they load the updated library
Caveat Minor version upgrades typically maintain backward compatibility; however, test in a staging environment before deploying to production

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

Fix this in Unixodbc Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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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-2018-7409 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