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Netwide AssemblerApplication · Nasm

CVE-2018-8883

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-03-20
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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
Netwide Assembler (NASM) 2.13.02rc2 has a buffer over-read in the parse_line function in asm/parser.c via uncontrolled access to nasm_reg_flags.

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

NASM 2.13.02rc2 contains a buffer over-read vulnerability in the parse_line function in asm/parser.c. The vulnerability results from uncontrolled/unbounded access to the nasm_reg_flags variable, allowing an attacker to read memory beyond the allocated buffer boundaries.

MitigationUpgrade NASM to a patched version beyond 2.13.02rc2 that includes proper bounds checking on nasm_reg_flags in the parse_line function.

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
Netwide AssemblerApplication
Affected:= 2.13.02

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
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 checks

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

  1. Verify NASM is installed
    Run 'nasm -v' or 'which nasm' to confirm NASM is present on the system
    Affected if NASM is not installed - the system is not affected
  2. Determine installed NASM version
    Run 'nasm -v' and note the version number displayed (e.g., 2.13.02, 2.13.02rc2)
    Affected if Version is 2.13.02 or 2.13.02rc2 - this version is in the affected range
  3. Compare version against affected range
    Check if the installed version matches exactly 2.13.02 (or 2.13.02rc2). Any other version number (higher or lower) is not the specific affected release
    Affected if Version exactly matches 2.13.02 - this is the affected product version
  4. Confirm vulnerability context applies
    The flaw is in the parse_line function in asm/parser.c involving the nasm_reg_flags variable. This is triggered during assembly parsing. If you use NASM to assemble files, the vulnerability could be triggered when processing specially crafted assembly source code
    Affected if Using NASM 2.13.02 to assemble untrusted assembly source files could trigger the buffer over-read in parse_line

If NASM version is exactly 2.13.02 (or 2.13.02rc2) and you assemble external or untrusted assembly source code, the environment is affected by this buffer over-read vulnerability in the parse_line function.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade NASM to a patched version beyond 2.13.02rc2 that includes proper bounds checking on nasm_reg_flags in the parse_line function.

Fix this in Netwide Assembler Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,620
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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-2018-8883 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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
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