CVE-2017-14604
GNOME Nautilus before 3.23.90 allows attackers to spoof a file type by using the .desktop file extension, as demonstrated by an attack in which a .desktop file's Name field ends in .pdf but this file's Exec field launches a malicious "sh -c" command.
Does this matter?
Lower severity and a low EPSS score (2.47%). Track it; it rarely justifies an emergency change on its own.
Description
GNOME Nautilus before 3.23.90 allows attackers to spoof a file type by using the .desktop file extension, as demonstrated by an attack in which a .desktop file's Name field ends in .pdf but this file's Exec field launches a malicious "sh -c" command. In other words, Nautilus provides no UI indication that a file actually has the potentially unsafe .desktop extension; instead, the UI only shows the .pdf extension. One (slightly) mitigating factor is that an attack requires the .desktop file to have execute permission. The solution is to ask the user to confirm that the file is supposed to be treated as a .desktop file, and then remember the user's answer in the metadata::trusted field.
- CVSS 3.1
- 6.5 MEDIUMCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
- EPSS
- 2.47% probability · 84th percentile
- Public exploits
- None in Exploit-DB
- CISA KEV
- Not listed
- Weakness
- CWE-20
- Affected
- gnome/nautilus · debian/debian linux
- Source
- cve@mitre.org
EPSS 2.5% since 27 October 2026; no change recorded yet. Points are recorded when the score first appears and whenever it moves by a percentage point or more.
References
- http://www.debian.org/security/2017/dsa-3994Third Party Advisory
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/101012Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:0223Third Party Advisory
- https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=860268Issue Tracking, Third Party Advisory
- https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=777991Issue Tracking, Vendor Advisory
- https://github.com/GNOME/nautilus/commit/1630f53481f445ada0a455e9979236d31a8d3bb0Issue Tracking, Patch, Third Party Advisory
- https://github.com/GNOME/nautilus/commit/bc919205bf774f6af3fa7154506c46039af5a69bIssue Tracking, Patch, Third Party Advisory
- https://github.com/freedomofpress/securedrop/issues/2238Third Party Advisory
- https://micahflee.com/2017/04/breaking-the-security-model-of-subgraph-os/Exploit, Third Party Advisory
- http://www.debian.org/security/2017/dsa-3994Third Party Advisory
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/101012Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:0223Third Party Advisory
- https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=860268Issue Tracking, Third Party Advisory
- https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=777991Issue Tracking, Vendor Advisory
- https://github.com/GNOME/nautilus/commit/1630f53481f445ada0a455e9979236d31a8d3bb0Issue Tracking, Patch, Third Party Advisory
- https://github.com/GNOME/nautilus/commit/bc919205bf774f6af3fa7154506c46039af5a69bIssue Tracking, Patch, Third Party Advisory
- https://github.com/freedomofpress/securedrop/issues/2238Third Party Advisory
- https://micahflee.com/2017/04/breaking-the-security-model-of-subgraph-os/Exploit, Third Party Advisory
Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA, exploits from Exploit-DB. Refreshed daily. Download this record as JSON.