In ncurses 6.0, there is an attempted 0xffffffffffffffff access in the append_acs function of tinfo/parse_entry.c.
In ncurses 6.0, there is an attempted 0xffffffffffffffff access in the append_acs function of tinfo/parse_entry.c. It could lead to a remote denial of service attack if the terminfo library code is used to process untrusted terminfo data.
- Published
- Jul 8, 2017
- Updated
- Jul 23, 2026
- EPSS
- 2.2% · 82th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-20
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Report tools
Action score
31
Monitor
Low priority for now.
- CVSS
- 30 / 40 · 7.5 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 0 / 30 · Not listed
- EPSS
- 1 / 30 · 2.2%
Affected systems
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| invisible-island | ncurses | cpe:2.3:a:invisible-island:ncurses |
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- invisible-island ncurses6.0
Package-level exposure
OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine:v3.3 | ncurses | before 6.0_p20170701-r0 | 6.0_p20170701-r0 |
| Alpine:v3.6 | ncurses | before 6.0_p20170930-r0 | 6.0_p20170930-r0 |
| Debian:12 | ncurses | before 6.0+20170701-1 | 6.0+20170701-1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP2 | ncurses | before 5.9-50.1 | 5.9-50.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 11 SP4 | ncurses | before 5.6-93.6.1 | 5.6-93.6.1 |
Same product
invisible-island: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2017-10685In ncurses 6.0, there is a format string vulnerability in the fmt_entry function.40Plan
- CVE-2017-10684In ncurses 6.0, there is a stack-based buffer overflow in the fmt_entry function.40Plan
- CVE-2021-39537An issue was discovered in ncurses through v6.2-1.36Monitor
- CVE-2017-16879Stack-based buffer overflow in the _nc_write_entry function in tinfo/write_entry.c in ncurses 6.0 allows attackers to cause a denial of serv32Monitor
- CVE-2025-69720The infocmp command-line tool in ncurses before 6.5-20251213 has a stack-based buffer overflow in analyze_string in progs/infocmp.c.31Monitor
- CVE-2023-29491ncurses before 6.4 20230408, when used by a setuid application, allows local users to trigger security-relevant memory corruption via malfor31Monitor
Remediation
Which version to upgrade to
Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.
| Product / package | Fixed version | Source |
|---|---|---|
| alpine:ncurses | 6.0_p20170701-r0 · Alpine:v3.3 | Package registry (OSV) |
| debian:ncurses | 6.0+20170701-1 · Debian:12 | Package registry (OSV) |
| suse:ncurses | 5.9-50.1 · SUSE:Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP2 | Package registry (OSV) |
Exploit status
No known public exploit
No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.
Research context
For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.
Timeline
From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.
No dated events beyond publication.
FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).
Patch and commit links
Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.
No commit or PR link among the references.
Credits
All researchersFinders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.
No credits in the CNA record.
Variant candidates
Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.
No nightly-computed relations.
Chain candidates
An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.
—
Bug bounty scope
No known public program.
Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).
Technical details
Attack conditions
- Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
- No account or password is required.
- No user action is required.
- No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
If successful
- Confidentiality
- none
- Integrity
- none
- Availability
- high · the service can be disrupted
- Attack vector
- Network
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality impact
- None
- Integrity impact
- None
- Availability impact
- High
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-20 · Improper Input ValidationCVSS vector
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
nvd-primary
Attack context
MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.
Attack patterns (CAPEC)
- Buffer Overflow via Environment VariablesCAPEC-10likelihood: High · High
- Server Side Include (SSI) InjectionCAPEC-101likelihood: High · High
- Cross Zone ScriptingCAPEC-104likelihood: Medium · High
- Command Line Execution through SQL InjectionCAPEC-108likelihood: Low · Very High
- Object Relational Mapping InjectionCAPEC-109likelihood: Low · High
- SQL Injection through SOAP Parameter TamperingCAPEC-110likelihood: High · Very High
- Double EncodingCAPEC-120likelihood: Low · Medium
- Subverting Environment Variable ValuesCAPEC-13likelihood: High · Very High
ATT&CK techniques
- Obfuscated Files or InformationT1027
- Masquerading: Invalid Code SignatureT1036.001
- Steal Web Session CookieT1539
- Subvert Trust Controls: Code SigningT1553.002
- Impair Defenses:Impair Command History LoggingT1562.003
- Hijack Execution Flow:Dynamic Linker HijackingT1574.006
- Hijack Execution Flow:Path Interception by PATH Environment VariableT1574.007
Noroxi analysis
No Noroxi analysis for this record yet
We don't hand-write analysis for all 385,000+ vulnerabilities; that wouldn't be honest. For notable, high-impact vulnerabilities our team writes the mechanism, detection and remediation steps.
We use this product, ask for helpChange log
- Fix✗ → ✓
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References
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.