CVE-2017-2896 Memory corruption in libxls

What is CVE-2017-2896?

CVE-2017-2896 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 20 Nov 2017. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

Official description

An exploitable out-of-bounds write vulnerability exists in the xls_mergedCells function of libxls 1.4. . A specially crafted XLS file can cause a memory corruption resulting in remote code execution. An attacker can send malicious XLS file to trigger this vulnerability.

Weakness: CWE-787

Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-2896?

It affects 2 products.

Products include Debian Debian Linux, Libxls Project Libxls.

How do I fix CVE-2017-2896?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

Upgrade to the fixed version. Memory-safe languages, compiler hardening and fuzzing prevent most new cases. More about Memory corruption.

Is CVE-2017-2896 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-2896 in the wild and no public exploit code.

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• CVE-2025-39682 Linux Kernel Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions Exploited Critical 9.8
• CVE-2024-9680 Mozilla Firefox Use-After-Free Exploited Critical 9.8

All Debian Debian Linux vulnerabilities

Sources

• CVE record
• NVD
• OSV
• GitHub advisory
• How this page is made

Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2017-2896, GHSA-rpv6-jf42-c65x, UBUNTU-CVE-2017-2896.