dbcve.org
IndentApplication · Gnu

CVE-2024-0911

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-02-06
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
57/100
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
A flaw was found in indent, a program for formatting C code. This issue may allow an attacker to trick a user into processing a specially crafted file to trigger a heap-based buffer overflow, causing the application to crash.

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 heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the indent code formatting utility. An attacker can craft a malicious input file that causes indent to write data beyond the allocated heap buffer boundaries, leading to memory corruption and application crash.

MitigationUpdate indent to the patched version when available. Avoid processing untrusted C code files with indent until the vulnerability is remediated.

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
IndentApplication
Affected:= 2.2.13

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
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 checks

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

  1. Verify indent is installed
    Run 'which indent' or 'command -v indent' to locate the indent binary
    Affected if indent command returns a path, indicating the tool is installed
  2. Check installed indent version
    Run 'indent --version' and compare the output to 2.2.13
    Affected if The version displayed is exactly 2.2.13
  3. Identify files processed by indent
    Review any scripts, build pipelines, or automated tools that invoke indent, or check recent command history for indent usage
    Affected if Indent processes C code files from untrusted or external sources

A user is affected if Gnu Indent version 2.2.13 is installed and processes untrusted C code files with the indent utility.

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

Update indent to the patched version when available. Avoid processing untrusted C code files with indent until the vulnerability is remediated.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest stable release of GNU indent newer than 2.2.13 (check official GNU sources for version number)

  1. 1. Check the official GNU indent release page (https://www.gnu.org/software/indent/) for the latest stable version.
  2. 2. Verify if a version newer than 2.2.13 has been released that addresses this vulnerability.
  3. 3. Download the source code of the confirmed fixed version from the official GNU FTP or release page.
  4. 4. Backup your current indent installation and configuration files.
  5. 5. Compile and install the new version following the standard ./configure, make, make install process.
  6. 6. Test the new binary with your typical C code files to ensure proper functionality.
  7. 7. If your system uses a package manager (apt, yum, dnf), wait for the package maintainer to release an updated package and install via that method instead.
Caveat Minimal risk - indent is a stable tool with few behavioral changes between minor versions

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

Fix this in Indent Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
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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-2024-0911 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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