# CVE-2017-16642: Information disclosure in n/a

> Attackers can leak interpreter memory information by supplying crafted date strings to the PHP date extension, requiring an upgrade to patched versions.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 7 Nov 2017
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-3r8x-r93p-fr32, UBUNTU-CVE-2017-16642

## What is CVE-2017-16642?

CVE-2017-16642 is a high-severity vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 7 Nov 2017. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In PHP before 5.6.32, 7.x before 7.0.25, and 7.1.x before 7.1.11, an error in the date extension's timelib_meridian handling of 'front of' and 'back of' directives could be used by attackers able to supply date strings to leak information from the interpreter, related to ext/date/lib/parse_date.c out-of-bounds reads affecting the php_parse_date function. NOTE: this is a different issue than CVE-2017-11145.

Weakness: CWE-125 (Out-of-bounds Read)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-16642?

It affects 5 products.


Products: Canonical Ubuntu Linux, Debian Debian Linux, Netapp Clustered Data Ontap, Netapp Storage Automation Store, Php Php.

## How do I fix CVE-2017-16642?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2017-16642 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2017-16642 exists.

Public exploit code:

- PHP 7.1.8 - Heap Buffer Overflow (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in Canonical Ubuntu Linux

- [CVE-2020-11651](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-11651/): SaltStack Salt Authentication Bypass (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2020-7247](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-7247/): OpenSMTPD Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2019-16928](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-16928/): Exim Out-of-bounds Write (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2018-6789](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-6789/): Exim Buffer Overflow (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2015-2590](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-2590/): Oracle Java SE and Java SE Embedded Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2017-16642 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2017-16642 is a high-severity vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 7 Nov 2017. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2017-16642 exists.

Affected product: Canonical Ubuntu Linux. 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-2017-16642/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-16642/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-16642
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-16642
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2017-16642

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-16642/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.