Description
In The Sleuth Kit (TSK) through 4.6.4, hfs_cat_traverse in tsk/fs/hfs.c does not properly determine when a key length is too large, which allows attackers to cause a denial of service (SEGV on unknown address with READ memory access in a tsk_getu16 call in hfs_dir_open_meta_cb in tsk/fs/hfs_dent.c).
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 | sleuthkit | 4.6.5-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | sleuthkit | 4.6.5-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | sleuthkit | 4.6.5-1 | — |
| Debian 9 | sleuthkit | 4.4.0-5+deb9u1 | DLA-3054-1 |
| Debian 8 | sleuthkit | 4.1.3-4+deb8u1 | DLA-1610-1 |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | sleuthkit | No fix yet | — |
Advisories 2
- DLA-1610-1 sleuthkit - security update Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- DLA-3054-1 sleuthkit - security update Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
References
- [debian-lts-announce] 20181217 [SECURITY] [DLA 1610-1] sleuthkit security update mailing-list
- https://github.com/sleuthkit/sleuthkit/commit/bc04aa017c0bd297de8a3b7fc40ffc6ddddbb95d
- https://github.com/sleuthkit/sleuthkit/pull/1374
- FEDORA-2019-b860f718ec vendor-advisory
- FEDORA-2019-61b6dae771 vendor-advisory
- [debian-lts-announce] 20220620 [SECURITY] [DLA 3054-1] sleuthkit security update mailing-list