# CVE-2015-1804: Integer overflow in n/a

> Remote authenticated users can cause denial of service or execute arbitrary code via a crafted BDF font file due to improper type conversion in libXfont.

- **Severity:** High 8.5 (`AV:N/AC:M/Au:S/C:C/I:C/A:C`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 20 Mar 2015
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2015-1804, GHSA-78q2-gpgm-j9wf, SUSE-RU-2015:2393-1, SUSE-RU-2016:0031-1, UBUNTU-CVE-2015-1804

## What is CVE-2015-1804?

CVE-2015-1804 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 20 Mar 2015. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

The bdfReadCharacters function in bitmap/bdfread.c in X.Org libXfont before 1.4.9 and 1.5.x before 1.5.1 does not properly perform type conversion for metrics values, which allows remote authenticated users to cause a denial of service (out-of-bounds memory access) and possibly execute arbitrary code via a crafted BDF font file.

Weakness: CWE-189

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2015-1804?

It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `xorg-x11-libs` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Desktop 11 SP3 | All versions | 7.4-8.26.46.1 |
| `xorg-x11-libs` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Desktop 11 SP4 | All versions | 7.4-8.26.46.1 |
| `libXfont` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 | All versions | 1.4.7-7.1 |
| `libXfont` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP1 | All versions | 1.4.7-7.1 |
| `xorg-x11-libs` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP3 | All versions | 7.4-8.26.46.1 |
| `xorg-x11-libs` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP3-TERADATA | All versions | 7.4-8.26.46.1 |
| `xorg-x11-libs` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP4 | All versions | 7.4-8.26.46.1 |
| `libXfont` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 | All versions | 1.4.7-7.1 |
| `libXfont` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP1 | All versions | 1.4.7-7.1 |
| `xorg-x11-libs` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 11 SP3 | All versions | 7.4-8.26.46.1 |
| `xorg-x11-libs` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 11 SP4 | All versions | 7.4-8.26.46.1 |
| `libXfont` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 | All versions | 1.4.7-7.1 |
| `libXfont` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP1 | All versions | 1.4.7-7.1 |
| `xorg-x11-libs` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 11 SP3 | All versions | 7.4-8.26.46.1 |
| `xorg-x11-libs` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 11 SP4 | All versions | 7.4-8.26.46.1 |
| `libXfont` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 12 | All versions | 1.4.7-7.1 |
| `libXfont` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 12 SP1 | All versions | 1.4.7-7.1 |

Products: X Libxfont.

## How do I fix CVE-2015-1804?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2015-1804 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2015-1804 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2007-5199](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2007-5199/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2013-6462](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6462/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2026-56001](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-56001/): libXfont2 BitmapScaleBitmaps Integer Overflow Heap Buffer Overflow (high 8.5)
- [CVE-2026-56002](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-56002/): libXfont2 PCF Font Parsing Heap Buffer Overflow (high 8.5)
- [CVE-2026-56003](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-56003/): libXfont2 computeProps Property Buffer Heap Buffer Overflow (high 8.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2015-1804 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2015-1804 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 20 Mar 2015. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2015-1804 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-1804/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-1804/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2015-1804
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2015-1804
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2015-1804

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-1804/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.