CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2018-14779 — A buffer overflow issue was discovered in the Yubico-Piv 1.5.0 smartcard driver

High CVSS 7.2

A buffer overflow issue was discovered in the Yubico-Piv 1.5.0 smartcard driver. The file lib/ykpiv.c contains the following code in the function `ykpiv_transfer_data()`: {% highlight c %} if(*out_len + recv_len - 2 > max_out) { fprintf(stderr, "Output buffer to small, wanted to write %lu, max was %lu.", *out_len + recv_len - 2, max_out); } if(out_data) { memcpy(out_data, data, recv_len - 2); out_data += recv_len - 2; *out_len += recv_len - 2; } {% endhighlight %} -- it is clearly checked whether the buffer is big enough to hold the data copied using `memcpy()`, but no error handling happens to avoid the `memcpy()` in such cases. This code path can be triggered with malicious data coming from a smartcard.

Severity
High
CVSS
7.2 (2.0)
Published
2018-08-15
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
software/application
Weaknesses
CWE-119, CWE-787

Affected products

  • yubico / piv_manager
  • yubico / piv_manager / 1.4.2
  • yubico / piv_manager / 1.4.2b
  • yubico / piv_manager / 1.4.2c
  • yubico / piv_manager / 1.4.2d
  • yubico / piv_manager / 1.4.2e

Showing 6 representative product identities from 10 source matches. Confirm exact affected versions with the linked vendor and NVD evidence.

Matched remediation archetype

Buffer bounds, memory safety, and memory corruption

This catalog composition supplies bounded fallback guidance. Explicitly reviewed curated workflows load with the complete record below.

Check exposure

  • Identify affected native-code versions, build flags, architectures, parsers, codecs, drivers, and input paths in all shipped artifacts.
  • Determine whether untrusted data reaches the affected routine and the process privilege, sandbox, and network exposure.
  • Confirm statically linked, vendored, firmware, and platform-provided copies, not only package-manager records.

Remediate safely

  • Apply the maintained upstream correction or replace the affected component, then rebuild every dependent artifact from clean inputs.
  • Adopt bounds-checked interfaces, validated sizes and integer conversions, clear ownership, and memory-safe components where practical.
  • Enable supported compiler and runtime hardening and add sanitized tests and fuzz regression seeds derived from non-weaponized fixtures.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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