{"id":"CVE-2017-16544","url":"https://www.cyber-defence.io/tools/cve/CVE-2017-16544","generatedAt":"2026-10-29T03:57:41.140Z","title":"In the add_match function in libbb/lineedit.c in BusyBox through 1.27.2, the tab autocomplete feature of the shell, used to get a list of filenames in a directory, does not sanitize filenames and results in executing any escape sequence in the terminal.","description":"In the add_match function in libbb/lineedit.c in BusyBox through 1.27.2, the tab autocomplete feature of the shell, used to get a list of filenames in a directory, does not sanitize filenames and results in executing any escape sequence in the terminal. This could potentially result in code execution, arbitrary file writes, or other attacks.","published":"2017-11-20T15:29:00.000Z","lastModified":"2026-06-17T01:09:26.000Z","status":"Modified","sourceIdentifier":"cve@mitre.org","cvss":{"version":"3.1","score":8.8,"severity":"HIGH","vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"},"cwe":["CWE-94"],"affected":["busybox/busybox","debian/debian linux","vmware/esxi","redlion/n-tron 702-w firmware","redlion/n-tron 702m12-w firmware","canonical/ubuntu linux"],"epss":{"score":0.06136,"percentile":0.93428,"date":"2026-10-28","history":[]},"kev":{"listed":false},"exploits":{"count":0,"verified":false,"firstPublished":null,"source":"Exploit-DB (https://gitlab.com/exploit-database/exploitdb)","entries":[]},"verdict":{"level":"high","text":"High impact if exploited, but EPSS currently rates exploitation as unlikely (6.14%). Schedule it in the normal patch cycle and watch for a rise in EPSS or a public exploit."},"changes":[],"references":[{"url":"http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/154361/Cisco-Device-Hardcoded-Credentials-GNU-glibc-BusyBox.html","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"],"source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/154536/VMware-Security-Advisory-2019-0013.html","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"],"source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/167552/Nexans-FTTO-GigaSwitch-Outdated-Components-Hardcoded-Backdoor.html","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"],"source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2019/Jun/18","tags":["Exploit","Mailing List","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2019/Sep/7","tags":["Exploit","Mailing List","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2020/Aug/20","tags":["Exploit","Mailing List","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2020/Mar/15","tags":["Exploit","Mailing List","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2020/Sep/6","tags":["Exploit","Mailing List","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2021/Aug/21","tags":["Exploit","Mailing List","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2021/Jan/39","tags":["Exploit","Mailing List","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2022/Jun/36","tags":["Exploit","Mailing List","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"http://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2019-0013.html","tags":["Third Party Advisory"],"source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"https://git.busybox.net/busybox/commit/?id=c3797d40a1c57352192c6106cc0f435e7d9c11e8","tags":["Patch","Vendor Advisory"],"source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2018/07/msg00037.html","tags":["Mailing List","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2021/02/msg00020.html","tags":["Mailing List","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"https://seclists.org/bugtraq/2019/Jun/14","tags":["Exploit","Mailing List","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"https://seclists.org/bugtraq/2019/Sep/7","tags":["Exploit","Mailing List","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"https://us-cert.cisa.gov/ics/advisories/icsa-20-240-01","tags":["Third Party Advisory","US Government Resource"],"source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"https://usn.ubuntu.com/3935-1/","tags":["Third Party Advisory"],"source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"https://www.twistlock.com/2017/11/20/cve-2017-16544-busybox-autocompletion-vulnerability/","tags":["Third Party Advisory"],"source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/154361/Cisco-Device-Hardcoded-Credentials-GNU-glibc-BusyBox.html","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/154536/VMware-Security-Advisory-2019-0013.html","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/167552/Nexans-FTTO-GigaSwitch-Outdated-Components-Hardcoded-Backdoor.html","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2019/Jun/18","tags":["Exploit","Mailing List","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2019/Sep/7","tags":["Exploit","Mailing List","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2020/Aug/20","tags":["Exploit","Mailing List","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2020/Mar/15","tags":["Exploit","Mailing List","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2020/Sep/6","tags":["Exploit","Mailing List","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2021/Aug/21","tags":["Exploit","Mailing List","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2021/Jan/39","tags":["Exploit","Mailing List","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2022/Jun/36","tags":["Exploit","Mailing List","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2019-0013.html","tags":["Third Party Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://git.busybox.net/busybox/commit/?id=c3797d40a1c57352192c6106cc0f435e7d9c11e8","tags":["Patch","Vendor Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2018/07/msg00037.html","tags":["Mailing List","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2021/02/msg00020.html","tags":["Mailing List","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://seclists.org/bugtraq/2019/Jun/14","tags":["Exploit","Mailing List","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://seclists.org/bugtraq/2019/Sep/7","tags":["Exploit","Mailing List","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://us-cert.cisa.gov/ics/advisories/icsa-20-240-01","tags":["Third Party Advisory","US Government Resource"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://usn.ubuntu.com/3935-1/","tags":["Third Party Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://www.twistlock.com/2017/11/20/cve-2017-16544-busybox-autocompletion-vulnerability/","tags":["Third Party Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"}],"sources":{"nvd":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-16544","epss":"https://www.first.org/epss/","kev":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog","exploitdb":"https://www.exploit-db.com/"},"licence":"CC BY 4.0 — link back to the CVE Explorer if you publish the results; upstream data remains subject to its own terms."}