Description
cpdb-libs provides frontend and backend libraries for the Common Printing Dialog Backends (CPDB) project. In versions 1.0 through 2.0b4, cpdb-libs is vulnerable to buffer overflows via improper use of `scanf(3)`. cpdb-libs uses the `fscanf()` and `scanf()` functions to parse command lines and configuration files, dropping the read string components into fixed-length buffers, but does not limit the length of the strings to be read by `fscanf()` and `scanf()` causing buffer overflows when a string is longer than 1023 characters. A patch for this issue is available at commit f181bd1f14757c2ae0f17cc76dc20421a40f30b7. As all buffers have a length of 1024 characters, the patch limits the maximum string length to be read to 1023 by replacing all occurrences of `%s` with `%1023s` in all calls of the `fscanf()` and `scanf()` functions.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| OpenPrinting | cpdb-libs | >= 1.0, <= 2.0b4 | — |
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 | cpdb-libs | 1.2.0-3 | — |
| Debian 13 | cpdb-libs | 1.2.0-3 | — |
| Debian 12 | cpdb-libs | 1.2.0-2+deb12u1 | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | cpdb-libs | 1.2.0-0ubuntu8.1.22.04.1 | USN-6204-1 |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | cpdb-libs | 1.2.0-0ubuntu7.1 | USN-6204-1 |
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | cpdb-libs | No fix yet | — |
Advisories 1
- USN-6204-1 cpdb-libs vulnerability Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Apr 27, 2026
References
- https://github.com/OpenPrinting/cpdb-libs/security/advisories/GHSA-25j7-9gfc-f46x
- https://github.com/OpenPrinting/cpdb-libs/commit/f181bd1f14757c2ae0f17cc76dc20421a40f30b7
- https://github.com/OpenPrinting/cpdb-libs/blob/85555fba64d34f53a2fce099b0488904cc48ed35/cpdb/cpdb-frontend.c#L372
- https://github.com/OpenPrinting/cpdb-libs/blob/85555fba64d34f53a2fce099b0488904cc48ed35/tools/cpdb-text-frontend.c#L362
- https://github.com/OpenPrinting/cpdb-libs/blob/85555fba64d34f53a2fce099b0488904cc48ed35/tools/cpdb-text-frontend.c#L453
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2023/06/14/7