Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2018-17407

An issue was discovered in t1_check_unusual_charstring functions in writet1.c files in TeX Live before 2018-09-21. A buffer overflow in the handling of Type 1 fonts allows arbitrary code execution when a malicious font is loaded by one of the vulnerable tools: pdflatex, pdftex, dvips, or luatex.

Security Impact Summary

This vulnerability carries a HIGH severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.8, requiring local system access to exploit with relatively low complexity though user interaction is required and does not require pre-existing privileges . The vulnerability impacts confidentiality (data exposure), integrity (unauthorized modifications), and availability (service disruption) for affected systems. Impacting 3 products from tug, from canonical, from debian organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.

Historical Context

First disclosed in 2018, this vulnerability was reported during a period defined by widespread IoT adoption challenges, mobile security concerns, and the emergence of advanced persistent threat (APT) techniques. Contemporary mitigation strategies focused on secure development practices and third-party component vetting.

Published

2018-09-23T21:29:00.280

Last Modified

2024-11-21T03:54:20.870

Status

Modified

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv3.0: 7.8 (HIGH)

CVSSv2 Vector

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P

Access Vector: NETWORK
Access Complexity: MEDIUM
Authentication: NONE
Confidentiality Impact: PARTIAL
Integrity Impact: PARTIAL
Availability Impact: PARTIAL

Exploitability Score

8.6

Impact Score

6.4

Weaknesses

Type: Primary
CWE-119

Affected Vendors & Products

Type	Vendor	Product	Version/Range	Vulnerable?
Application	tug	tex_live	< 2018-09-21	Yes
Operating System	canonical	ubuntu_linux	14.04	Yes
Operating System	canonical	ubuntu_linux	16.04	Yes
Operating System	canonical	ubuntu_linux	18.04	Yes
Operating System	canonical	ubuntu_linux	18.10	Yes
Operating System	debian	debian_linux	8.0	Yes
Operating System	debian	debian_linux	9.0	Yes

References

https://github.com/TeX-Live/texlive-source/commit/6ed0077520e2b0da1fd060c7f88db7b2e6068e4c Patch, Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://lists.debian.org/debian-security-announce/2018/msg00230.html Mailing List, Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://usn.ubuntu.com/3788-1/ Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://usn.ubuntu.com/3788-2/ Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://www.debian.org/security/2018/dsa-4299 Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://github.com/TeX-Live/texlive-source/commit/6ed0077520e2b0da1fd060c7f88db7b2e6068e4c Patch, Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://lists.debian.org/debian-security-announce/2018/msg00230.html Mailing List, Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://usn.ubuntu.com/3788-1/ Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://usn.ubuntu.com/3788-2/ Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://www.debian.org/security/2018/dsa-4299 Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)

How SecUtils Interprets This CVE

SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For tug's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.