# CVE-2017-9951: Memory corruption in n/a

> Remote attackers can cause a denial of service via a heap-based buffer over-read in memcached when adding or setting keys.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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:** 17 Jul 2017
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2017-9951, DEBIAN-CVE-2017-9951, DLA-1033-1, GHSA-vpcm-5gwm-79h2, MGASA-2017-0441, SUSE-SU-2018:0839-1, UBUNTU-CVE-2017-9951

## What is CVE-2017-9951?

CVE-2017-9951 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in n/a, published on 17 Jul 2017. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The try_read_command function in memcached.c in memcached before 1.4.39 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (segmentation fault) via a request to add/set a key, which makes a comparison between signed and unsigned int and triggers a heap-based buffer over-read. NOTE: this vulnerability exists because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2016-8705.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-9951?

It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `memcached` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2 | All versions | 1.4.39-4.3.1 |
| `memcached` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP3 | All versions | 1.4.39-4.3.1 |
| `memcached` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for Raspberry Pi 12 SP2 | All versions | 1.4.39-4.3.1 |
| `memcached` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP2 | All versions | 1.4.39-4.3.1 |
| `memcached` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP3 | All versions | 1.4.39-4.3.1 |
| `memcached` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 12 SP2 | All versions | 1.4.39-4.3.1 |

Products: Memcached Memcached.

## How do I fix CVE-2017-9951?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2017-9951 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-9951 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2023-46853](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-46853/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2016-8704](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-8704/): Integer overflow in Memcached (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2016-8705](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-8705/): Integer overflow in Memcached (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2026-47783](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-47783/): Information disclosure in memcached (high 8.1)
- [CVE-2026-47784](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-47784/): Information disclosure in memcached (high 8.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2017-9951 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2017-9951 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in n/a, published on 17 Jul 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-2017-9951 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-2017-9951/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-9951/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-9951
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-9951
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2017-9951

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-9951/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.