Description
Multiple buffer overflows in cscope 15.5 and earlier allow user-assisted attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) and possibly execute arbitrary code via multiple vectors including (1) a long pathname that is not properly handled during file list parsing, (2) long pathnames that result from path variable expansion such as tilde expansion for the HOME environment variable, and (3) a long -f (aka reffile) command line argument.
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | cscope | 15.5+cvs20060902-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | cscope | 15.5+cvs20060902-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | cscope | 15.5+cvs20060902-1 | — |
| Debian 3.1 | cscope | 15.5-1.1sarge2 | DSA-1186-1 |
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 4 | cscope | 15.5-10.RHEL4.3 | RHSA-2009:1101 |
| RHEL 3 | cscope | 15.5-16.RHEL3 | RHSA-2009:1101 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | cscope | 15.9-1.9 | openSUSE-SU-2024:10705-1 |
Advisories 3
- RHSA-2009:1101 Red Hat Security Advisory: cscope security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 26, 2026
- DSA-1186-1 cscope Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2024:10705-1 cscope-15.9-1.9 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
References
- DSA-1186 vendor-advisory
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=203645
- 21601 third-party-advisory
- cscope-cscopelists-bo(28545) vdb-entry
- RHSA-2009:1101 vendor-advisory
- 28135 vdb-entry
- http://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/forum.php?thread_id=30266761&forum_id=33500
- 22239 third-party-advisory
- 22515 third-party-advisory
- ADV-2006-3374 vdb-entry
- oval:org.mitre.oval:def:9661 vdb-entry signature
- http://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/forum.php?thread_id=30266760&forum_id=33500
- 19686 vdb-entry
- 19687 vdb-entry
- GLSA-200610-08 vendor-advisory
- 28136 vdb-entry
- cscope-reffile-bo(28546) vdb-entry