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CVE Record

CVE-2019-1010238: Gnome Pango 1.42 and later is affected by: Buffer Overflow.

Gnome Pango 1.42 and later is affected by: Buffer Overflow. The impact is: The heap based buffer overflow can be used to get code execution. The component is: function name: pango_log2vis_get_embedding_levels, assignment of nchars and the loop condition. The attack vector is: Bug can be used when application pass invalid utf-8 strings to functions like pango_itemize.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysishigh

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

Pango, a GNOME text-layout library, had a heap buffer overflow in versions described as 1.42 and later. If an application fed invalid UTF-8 text into affected Pango paths, the flaw could lead to code execution. Public sources show vendor security updates, but this bundle does not provide CVSS scoring or confirmed exploitation.

Executive priority

Treat this as a priority patching issue where Pango is present in user-facing or untrusted-content workflows. The business urgency is higher when affected systems process documents, messages, UI text, or remote content from outside trusted boundaries.

Technical view

The issue is in pango_log2vis_get_embedding_levels, involving nchars assignment and loop conditions. The CVE states invalid UTF-8 passed to functions such as pango_itemize can trigger a heap-based buffer overflow with possible code execution. Affected scope is listed as GNOME Pango 1.42 and later.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most likely on Linux systems or applications using affected Pango packages to process untrusted or malformed text. Distribution packages from Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, Red Hat, and Gentoo had advisories. Actual exposure depends on whether an application passes invalid UTF-8 into vulnerable Pango functions.

Exploitation context

The bundle does not identify active exploitation, public exploit use, or KEV listing. The risk comes from a memory corruption condition with stated code-execution impact, reachable through malformed text handled by applications using Pango.

Researcher notes

The source bundle lacks CVSS, CWE, fixed-version details, and exploit telemetry. Analysis should focus on package provenance, reachable invalid UTF-8 paths, and whether downstream applications normalize input before calling Pango text-layout functions.

Mitigation direction

  • Apply Pango security updates from the relevant OS or application vendor.
  • Inventory systems and containers for Pango 1.42 or later packages.
  • Check GNOME and distribution advisories for fixed package versions.
  • Validate or reject invalid UTF-8 before passing text to Pango.
  • Prioritize internet-facing or document-processing applications using Pango.

Validation and detection

  • Confirm installed Pango package versions against vendor advisories.
  • Identify applications that process untrusted text through Pango.
  • Review package manager history for relevant 2019 security updates.
  • Test application handling of invalid UTF-8 safely in non-production environments.
  • Verify vulnerable packages are absent from containers and base images.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
9

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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ATT&CK lookup starting points

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description · low confidence lookup

Execution behavior lookup

The CVE wording references code or command execution, so execution technique review may help defensive triage. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.

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CVE-2019-1010238 mapping review

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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
15Source 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
GnomePango1.42 and laterListed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.