The bdfReadCharacters function in bitmap/bdfread.c in X.Org libXfont before 1.4.9 and 1.5.x before 1.5.1 does not properly handle character bitmaps it cannot read, which allows remote authenticated users to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and crash) and possibly execute arbitrary code via a crafted BDF font file.
Conclusion & alert: CVE-2015-1803 is rated High Risk (68.4/100): CVSS High severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 4.90%, 91th percentile). Core evidence: EPSS ranks this CVE among the most likely to be exploited in the near term. EPSS rose +2.61% over the last day, indicating growing attacker interest. Mandatory action: High exploitation likelihood—assess exposure and prioritize remediation.
Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.
EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).
| # | Date | Old EPSS score | New EPSS score | Delta (New - Old) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2026-06-15 | 2.29% | 4.90% | +2.61% |
| 2 | 2026-05-13 | 1.69% | 2.29% | +0.60% |
| 3 | 2025-12-28 | — | 1.69% | — |
Full EPSS history (14 records total)
CVSS metrics for this CVE.
| Base score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability | Impact | Score source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8.5 | 2.0 | HIGH |
|
6.8 | 10.0 | [email protected] |
| vendor | priority | summary | link |
|---|---|---|---|
debian
|
not yet assigned | CVE-2015-1803 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (libxfont), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. | https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2015-1803 |
gentoo
|
normal | CVE-2015-1803: 1 GLSA(s) (201507-21), 1 atom(s) (x11-libs/libXfont); latest impact normal. | https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2015-1803 |
redhat
|
low | — | https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2015-1803 |
ubuntu
|
medium | CVE-2015-1803 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (libxfont), 5 status rows across 5 suites (lucid, precise, trusty, upstream, utopic): released 5. | https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2015-1803 |
: <a href="http://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/476.html">CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference</a>
| Vendor | Product | Version | Raw CPE |
|---|---|---|---|
| canonical | ubuntu_linux | 10.04 | cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:10.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:* |
| canonical | ubuntu_linux | 12.04 | cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:12.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:* |
| canonical | ubuntu_linux | 14.04 | cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:14.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:* |
| canonical | ubuntu_linux | 14.10 | cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:14.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:* |
| debian | debian_linux | 7.0 | cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* |
| x | libxfont | <= 1.4.8 | cpe:2.3:a:x:libxfont:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* |
| x | libxfont | 1.5.0 | cpe:2.3:a:x:libxfont:1.5.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* |