Description
catdoc through 0.95 contains an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in copy_unicode_string() in src/xlsparse.c that allows attackers to read past buffers via an unchecked string character count. Attackers can supply a crafted .xls file declaring 0xFFFF two-byte characters in LABEL, STRING, or SST records to disclose adjacent memory through xls2csv output or crash the process.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| catdoc | catdoc | ≤ 0.95 | — |
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 | catdoc | No fix yet | — |
| Debian 13 | catdoc | No fix yet | — |
| Debian 12 | catdoc | No fix yet | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 26.10 | catdoc | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | catdoc | No fix yet | — |
Show 5 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu Pro 24.04 LTS | catdoc | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro 22.04 LTS | catdoc | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro 20.04 LTS | catdoc | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro 18.04 LTS | catdoc | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro 16.04 LTS | catdoc | No fix yet | — |
References
- https://hackmd.io/@haind-pwn/catdoc-xls-mulrk-endcol-and-string-count-oob-read technical-description
- https://github.com/vbwagner/catdoc/blob/38a2807d22ce1a08bc39b94e9072a9f8f52cd86f/src/xlsparse.c#L421-L520 technical-description
- https://github.com/vbwagner/catdoc product
- VulnCheck Advisory: catdoc through 0.95 Out-of-Bounds Read via xls2csv copy_unicode_string third-party-advisory