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CVE-2017-16879· NVD / CVE Program· CNA mitre

Stack-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 serv

Stack-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 service (application crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code via a crafted terminfo file, as demonstrated by tic.

HighCVSS 7.8 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available
Published
Nov 22, 2017
Updated
Jul 23, 2026
EPSS
2.4% · 83th percentile
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Action score

32

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
31 / 40 · 7.8 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
1 / 30 · 2.4%

Affected systems

VendorProduct
invisible-islandncurses

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.

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Alpine:v3.10ncursesbefore 6.0_p20171125-r06.0_p20171125-r0
Debian:12ncursesbefore 6.0+20171125-16.0+20171125-1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 11 SP4ncursesbefore 5.6-93.12.15.6-93.12.1

Same product

invisible-island: all records

Other 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-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 malfor
    31Monitor
  • CVE-2017-13728There is an infinite loop in the next_char function in comp_scan.c in ncurses 6.0, related to libtic.
    31Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
alpine:ncurses6.0_p20171125-r0 · Alpine:v3.10Package registry (OSV)
debian:ncurses6.0+20171125-1 · Debian:12Package registry (OSV)
suse:ncurses5.6-93.12.1 · SUSE:Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 11 SP4Package 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.

EPSS, last 120 days

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 researchers

Finders, 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

  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it.
  • No account or password is required.
  • A user must open a link or visit a page.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
high · data can be read
Integrity
high · data or configuration can be modified
Availability
high · the service can be disrupted
Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
High
Integrity impact
High
Availability impact
High

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-787 · Out-of-bounds Write

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/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.

MITRE has no CAPEC/ATT&CK mapping for this CWE.

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 help

Change log

  1. Fix✗ → ✓

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References

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records