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CVE Record

CVE-2018-7730: An issue was discovered in Exempi through 2.4.4.

An issue was discovered in Exempi through 2.4.4. A certain case of a 0xffffffff length is mishandled in XMPFiles/source/FormatSupport/PSIR_FileWriter.cpp, leading to a heap-based buffer over-read in the PSD_MetaHandler::CacheFileData() function.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2018-7730 is a memory-read bug in Exempi through 2.4.4, a library used to handle metadata. A specially crafted file can trigger incorrect handling of a large length value. Public sources do not show active exploitation. Business urgency is highest where systems process untrusted images or documents automatically.

Executive priority

Treat as a routine but real patching item. Prioritize internet-facing upload services, automated media pipelines, and endpoints handling untrusted files. There is no cited active exploitation, but the bug is old and vendor fixes have been available for years.

Technical view

Exempi through 2.4.4 mishandles a 0xffffffff length in XMPFiles/source/FormatSupport/PSIR_FileWriter.cpp. This causes a heap-based buffer over-read in PSD_MetaHandler::CacheFileData(). The issue is tied to PSD metadata parsing and has upstream and Linux distribution security advisories.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most likely on Linux systems or applications using Exempi/libexempi to parse metadata from untrusted PSD, image, or document files. Servers, content pipelines, search indexers, and desktop environments may be affected if they automatically inspect uploaded or received files.

Exploitation context

The public record describes malformed input causing a heap-based over-read during metadata parsing. The provided sources do not report known active exploitation, weaponized public exploits, or CISA KEV listing. Practical impact is likely denial of service or possible data exposure, but exact impact is not fully quantified in the bundle.

Researcher notes

Evidence is strongest for Exempi through 2.4.4 and the named heap over-read location. The source bundle lacks CVSS, CWE, and detailed exploitability analysis. Use distro advisories and the upstream commit to confirm backports rather than relying only on version strings.

Mitigation direction

  • Identify systems with Exempi or libexempi installed.
  • Apply vendor security updates from Debian, Ubuntu, Red Hat, Fedora, or your distribution.
  • Prefer vendor-backported fixed packages over upstream version comparisons alone.
  • Reduce automatic metadata parsing of untrusted files until patched.
  • Check upstream Exempi guidance if using custom builds.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory package versions and vendor errata status.
  • Confirm CVE-2018-7730 is listed as fixed by the installed package changelog.
  • Check applications that bundle Exempi separately from OS packages.
  • Review file-processing services that parse uploaded PSD or image metadata.
  • Monitor crash logs around Exempi metadata parsing until remediation completes.
Prepared
Confidence
high
Sources
8

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

0CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
7Source links

CVSS and timeline data

No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
n/an/an/aListed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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