CVE-2017-16942

In libsndfile 1.0.25 (fixed in 1.0.26), a divide-by-zero error exists in the function wav_w64_read_fmt_chunk() in wav_w64.c, which may lead to DoS when playing a crafted audio file.

Published: 2017-11-25 Last update: 2026-05-13 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2017-16942 is rated Low Risk (38.4/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.15%). Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2017-16942

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 2026-03-28 0.28% 0.15% -0.13%
2 2025-03-30 0.74% 0.28% -0.45%
3 2025-03-29 — 0.74% —

Full EPSS history (8 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2017-16942

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
6.5 3.0 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 2.8 3.6 [email protected]
4.3 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:M)
Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:N)
No confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:N)
No integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P)
Partial availability impact.
 8.6 2.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2017-16942

OS Trackers for CVE-2017-16942

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2017-16942 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (libsndfile), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2017-16942
redhat low — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2017-16942
suse medium CVE-2017-16942 severity moderate: SUSE including 10 source package names (libsndfile-1.0.20-2.19.7.3, libsndfile-32bit-1.0.20-2.19.7.3, …), 38 product×package rows across 21 product lines (SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP2, SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP3, … (21 product lines)): Fixed 38. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2017-16942/
ubuntu negligible CVE-2017-16942 negligible priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (libsndfile), 11 status rows across 11 suites (artful, bionic, cosmic, disco, eoan, focal, groovy, trusty, upstream, xenial, zesty): not-affected 7, released 3, ignored 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2017-16942

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2017-16942

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
libsndfile_project libsndfile 1.0.25 cpe:2.3:a:libsndfile_project:libsndfile:1.0.25:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2017-16942

cvelogic Threat Intelligence