CVE-2017-17562
Embedthis GoAhead Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
Does this matter?
Known to be exploited in the wild (CISA KEV, CISA remediation deadline 10 June 2022). Treat as an emergency change: patch or isolate now, then hunt for prior compromise.
Description
Embedthis GoAhead before 3.6.5 allows remote code execution if CGI is enabled and a CGI program is dynamically linked. This is a result of initializing the environment of forked CGI scripts using untrusted HTTP request parameters in the cgiHandler function in cgi.c. When combined with the glibc dynamic linker, this behaviour can be abused for remote code execution using special parameter names such as LD_PRELOAD. An attacker can POST their shared object payload in the body of the request, and reference it using /proc/self/fd/0.
- CVSS 3.1
- 8.1 HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- EPSS
- 97.13% probability · 100th percentile
- Public exploits
- 2 in Exploit-DB · verified · first 18 December 2017
- CISA KEV
- Listed 10 December 2021 · due 10 June 2022
- Affected
- embedthis/goahead · oracle/integrated lights out manager
- Source
- cve@mitre.org
EPSS 97.1% since 27 October 2026; no change recorded yet. The dashed line is the ten per cent mark our analysts treat as “patch before the next change window”. Points are recorded when the score first appears and whenever it moves by a percentage point or more.
CISA notes
Apply updates per vendor instructions. https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-17562
Public exploits (2)
Entries in Exploit-DB that cite this CVE. Links go to the Exploit-DB page and to the file in the public repository; nothing is hosted here. A verified tick means the Exploit-DB team confirmed the exploit works against the stated version.
| EDB-ID | Title | Type | Published | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EDB-43877source ↗ | GoAhead Web Server 2.5 < 3.6.5 - HTTPd 'LD_PRELOAD' Arbitrary Module Load (Metasploit)multiple · Metasploit | remote | 24 January 2018 | yes |
| EDB-43360source ↗ | GoAhead Web Server 2.5 < 3.6.5 - HTTPd 'LD_PRELOAD' Remote Code Executionlinux · Daniel Hodson | remote | 18 December 2017 | yes |
References
- http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/security-advisory/cpuapr2018-3678067.htmlPatch, Third Party Advisory
- http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1040702Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
- https://github.com/elttam/advisories/tree/master/CVE-2017-17562Broken Link, Third Party Advisory
- https://github.com/embedthis/goahead/commit/6f786c123196eb622625a920d54048629a7caa74Broken Link, Patch, Third Party Advisory
- https://github.com/embedthis/goahead/issues/249Broken Link, Issue Tracking, Third Party Advisory
- https://www.elttam.com.au/blog/goahead/Broken Link, Exploit, Patch, Third Party Advisory
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/43360/Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/43877/Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
- http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/security-advisory/cpuapr2018-3678067.htmlPatch, Third Party Advisory
- http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1040702Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
- https://github.com/elttam/advisories/tree/master/CVE-2017-17562Broken Link, Third Party Advisory
- https://github.com/embedthis/goahead/commit/6f786c123196eb622625a920d54048629a7caa74Broken Link, Patch, Third Party Advisory
- https://github.com/embedthis/goahead/issues/249Broken Link, Issue Tracking, Third Party Advisory
- https://www.elttam.com.au/blog/goahead/Broken Link, Exploit, Patch, Third Party Advisory
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/43360/Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/43877/Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2017-17562US Government Resource
Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA, exploits from Exploit-DB. Refreshed daily. Download this record as JSON.