# CVE-2017-9228: Memory corruption in n/a

> Heap out-of-bounds write in Oniguruma regex compilation allows attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 24 May 2017
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2017-9228, CLSA-2025-1758892974, CLSA-2025-1758892982, CLSA-2025-1758896397, DEBIAN-CVE-2017-9228, GHSA-qc5j-7652-9f34, UBUNTU-CVE-2017-9228

## What is CVE-2017-9228?

CVE-2017-9228 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Php Php, published on 24 May 2017. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An issue was discovered in Oniguruma 6.2.0, as used in Oniguruma-mod in Ruby through 2.4.1 and mbstring in PHP through 7.1.5. A heap out-of-bounds write occurs in bitset_set_range() during regular expression compilation due to an uninitialized variable from an incorrect state transition. An incorrect state transition in parse_char_class() could create an execution path that leaves a critical local variable uninitialized until it's used as an index, resulting in an out-of-bounds write memory corruption.

Weakness: CWE-787 (Out-of-bounds Write)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-9228?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Oniguruma Project Oniguruma, Php Php.

## How do I fix CVE-2017-9228?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2017-9228 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-9228 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Php Php

- [CVE-2017-9224](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-9224/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2017-9225](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-9225/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2017-9226](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-9226/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2017-9227](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-9227/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2017-9229](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-9229/): Null dereference in n/a (high 7.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2017-9228 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2017-9228 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Php Php, published on 24 May 2017. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-9228 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Php Php. 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-2017-9228/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-9228/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-9228
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-9228
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2017-9228

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-9228/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.