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PatchSiren cyber security CVE debrief

CVE-2016-8388 Iceni CVE debrief

CVE-2016-8388 is a high-severity vulnerability in Iceni Argus. When the product converts a malformed PDF to XML, it can trust an attacker-influenced index from a font object and use it to write a font name into an object array, resulting in an arbitrary heap overwrite. The published CVSS score is 7.8, and the NVD vector indicates local access with user interaction required.

Vendor
Iceni
Product
Argus
CVSS
HIGH 7.8
CISA KEV
Not listed in stored evidence
Original CVE published
2017-02-28
Original CVE updated
2026-05-13
Advisory published
2017-02-28
Advisory updated
2026-05-13

Who should care

Teams running Iceni Argus 6.6.04 or similar PDF-to-XML processing workflows, especially where untrusted or externally supplied PDFs are handled. Security and operations teams should pay attention because the issue is triggered during document conversion and can affect systems that process adversarial files.

Technical summary

NVD lists CVE-2016-8388 against Iceni Argus 6.6.04 and classifies it as CWE-125. The vulnerability is described as an exploitable arbitrary heap-overwrite in the PDF-to-XML conversion path: a malformed PDF can cause Argus to explicitly trust an index from a font object and use it to write the font name to a single object in an array of objects. The CVSS 3.1 vector is AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H, indicating high potential impact but requiring user interaction.

Defensive priority

High, but context-dependent. The severity and impact are high, yet the attack path requires local execution context and user interaction. Prioritize remediation if Argus is used in production document pipelines or on endpoints that may open untrusted PDFs.

Recommended defensive actions

  • Identify all installations of Iceni Argus, with special attention to version 6.6.04.
  • Treat untrusted PDFs as hostile and restrict who can submit files for conversion.
  • Isolate the conversion workflow in a sandboxed or least-privilege environment.
  • Remove or replace the affected version if no vendor fix is available.
  • Monitor for vendor advisories and validate whether a patched Argus release exists before continuing production use.

Evidence notes

This debrief is based on the NVD CVE record and the supplied CVE description. NVD lists the affected CPE as Iceni Argus 6.6.04, the weakness as CWE-125, and the CVSS 3.1 vector as AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. The supplied references include a Talos advisory/report link and a SecurityFocus BID entry; the SecurityFocus reference is marked broken in the source metadata.

Sources and references

Verified primary and authoritative sources

  • CVE-2016-8388 CVE Program record

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-8388

    CVE Program - Official CVE Program record with source-provided CVE metadata.

  • CVE-2016-8388 NVD vulnerability detail

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-8388

    NIST National Vulnerability Database - Official NIST NVD detail page and source-specific vulnerability assessment.

Methodology and review provenance

AI-assisted synthesis based on stored public vulnerability evidence. System validation, approval state, and publication status do not by themselves establish human review of this revision. PatchSiren helps prioritize defensive review and does not prove exposure or remediation on any system.