Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2018-7999 is a denial-of-service risk in libgraphite2 1.3.11. A specially crafted TrueType font could trigger a NULL pointer dereference during rendering and crash software that processes the font. The public record does not provide a CVSS score or evidence of active exploitation.
Executive priority
Treat this as a patching and resilience issue, not an emergency breach signal. Prioritize systems that accept or render user-provided fonts or documents, especially shared services where crashes affect availability.
Technical view
The issue is a NULL pointer dereference in Segment.cpp during a dumbRendering operation in graphite2 1.3.11. The input vector is a crafted .ttf file. Reported impact is denial of service, with only unspecified possible additional impact in the public description.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely where libgraphite2/graphite2 is used to parse or render untrusted TrueType fonts, such as font, document, or text-rendering workflows. The source bundle does not enumerate affected downstream applications or package versions beyond graphite2 1.3.11.
Exploitation context
The CVE record describes crafted-font exploitation for crash/denial of service. CISA KEV status is false in the bundle, and no provided source states active exploitation in the wild.
Researcher notes
The public data is sparse: no CVSS, no CWE, no downstream product list, and no confirmed exploitation. Analysis should stay anchored to graphite2 1.3.11, the upstream GitHub issue/commit, and Fedora advisories.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade graphite2/libgraphite2 to a vendor-supported build containing the upstream fix.
- Apply relevant Linux distribution security updates, including Fedora packages where applicable.
- Limit processing of untrusted .ttf files in exposed workflows until patched.
- Monitor vendor advisories for downstream applications bundling libgraphite2.
Validation and detection
- Inventory installed graphite2/libgraphite2 package versions across endpoints and servers.
- Check whether font, document, or rendering services process user-supplied .ttf files.
- Confirm vendor security updates covering CVE-2018-7999 are installed.
- Review crash telemetry for font-rendering failures after suspicious font submissions.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CVE-2018-7999 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Unknown
- CVSS
- Not scored
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
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.
CVSS and timeline data
No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://github.com/silnrsi/graphite/commit/db132b4731a9b4c9534144ba3a18e65b390e9ff6CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/silnrsi/graphite/issues/22CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- FEDORA-2019-644ef7ebecCVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_FEDORA
- FEDORA-2019-d0b1feb995CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_FEDORA
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.