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CVE-2017-16879

28
FAUCET Score

CVE-2017-16879 is a stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability in the _nc_write_entry function of ncurses 6.0, specifically impacting the tinfo/write_entry.c file. This flaw allows an attacker to trigger a denial of service or potentially execute arbitrary code by supplying a specially crafted terminfo file, as demonstrated through the tic utility. With a CVSS score of 7.8 (HIGH), it requires local access and user interaction (e.g., opening a malicious file) but can lead to high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts. Currently, there is no evidence of active exploitation, public exploit code (Metasploit, Nuclei, ExploitDB), or significant community discussion or media coverage, suggesting a low immediate threat.

Impacted Technologies

VendorProductVersion(s)CPE
6.0CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:a:invisible-island:ncurses:6.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

CVSS Data

CVSS version used by this source: 3.1

7.8HIGH

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

Attack Vector
LOCAL
Attack Complexity
LOW
Privileges Required
NONE
User Interaction
REQUIRED
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality Impact
HIGH
Integrity Impact
HIGH
Availability Impact
HIGH
Exploitability Score
1.8
Impact Score
5.9
CvssVersion
3.1

Exploit Intelligence

EPSS Score
2.38%
Probability of exploitation in next 30 days
EPSS Percentile
82.2%
Percentile rank of EPSS score among Peer Group
As of 2026-07-27
Model: v2026.06.15
This CVE's current EPSS score of 0.0238 is in the 82nd percentile among its peer group of 11,621 CVEs.

Social Chatter

The average CVE in this peer group has 0.0 Twitter, 0.1 Reddit, 0.1 Bluesky, 0.0 Mastodon, and 0.2 GitHub mentions.

Media Mentions

No media coverage found for this CVE.

The average CVE in this peer group has 0.3 InfoSec Media, 0.0 Vendor Blog, and 0.0 Security Researcher mentions.

Remediation

Vendor Patches (3)

redhatend of lifevia redhat_api
Product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5Fixed in: ncurses
redhatend of lifevia redhat_api
Product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6Fixed in: ncurses
redhatend of lifevia redhat_api
Product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7Fixed in: ncurses

Vendor Advisories (1)

redhatCVE-2017-16879Low

ncurses: Stack-based buffer overflow in the _nc_write_entry function

Nov 18, 2017

References

invisible-island.net / ncurses/NEWS.html
Vendor Advisory
packetstormsecurity.com / files/145045/GNU-ncurses-6.0-tic-Denial-Of-Service.html
Third Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
lists.apache.org / thread.html/r58af02e294bd07f487e2c64ffc0a29b837db5600e33b6e698b9d696b%40%3Cissues.bookkeeper.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org / thread.html/rf4c02775860db415b4955778a131c2795223f61cb8c6a450893651e4%40%3Cissues.bookkeeper.apache.org%3E
security.gentoo.org / glsa/201804-13
Third Party Advisory
tools.cisco.com / security/center/viewAlert.x
Permissions RequiredThird Party Advisory