CVE-2017-16879: invisible-island ncurses Out-of-bounds Write
Vulnerability summary
CVE-2017-16879 is a high (CVSS 7.8) Out-of-bounds Write vulnerability in invisible-island ncurses. EPSS estimates a 2.39% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 84% of scored vulnerabilities.
Not severe (CVSS 7.8, local access); no exploitation reported by the 5 checked sources
Source freshness unavailable
How is this decided?Advisory lineage
Upstream 0 · Downstream 3 · Related 2Timeline
- 22-11-2017PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
- 05-08-2024Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.
Description
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.
CVSS metrics
6 scores · 4 sources · 3 versions- OSV · AlpineEcosystem advisory · calculated7.8HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- OSV · UbuntuEcosystem advisory · calculated7.8HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- OSV · DebianEcosystem advisory · calculated7.8HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS trend
Probability
2.39%
Chance of exploitation in the next 30 days
Percentile
84%
Versus all other CVEs
30-day change
Decrease -0.01 pp
From 2.40% on 05-10-2026
Known exploited
Compare KEV catalogs
CISA KEVNot in the CISA KEV catalog.
ENISA CNWNot in the ENISA CNW catalog.
CIRCLNot in the CIRCL catalog.
Public exploits
0 foundNo public exploits indexed.
Weaknesses
CWE · root causeAffected systems
Known conditions: local access, no authentication, user interaction (CVSS vector). Other conditions: not stated in public data.
Alpine1 product
- ncurses< 6.0_p20171125-r0
Debian1 product
- ncurses< 6.0+20171125-1
Invisible-island1 product
- ncurses6.0
Ubuntu1 product
- ncurses< 5.9+20140118-1ubuntu1+esm2 | < 6.0+20160213-1ubuntu1+esm2
4 vendors · 4 products
References
11 links- packetstormsecurity.com/files/145045/GNU-ncurses-6.0-tic-Denial-Of-Service.htmlX Refsource MISCThird Party AdvisoryVDB EntryREPORT
- tools.cisco.com/security/center/viewAlert.x?alertId=57695X Refsource CONFIRMPermissions RequiredThird Party Advisory
