{"id":"CVE-2017-20203","url":"https://www.cyber-defence.io/tools/cve/CVE-2017-20203","generatedAt":"2026-10-29T00:57:54.643Z","title":"NetSarang Xmanager Enterprise 5.0 Build 1232, Xmanager 5.0 Build 1045, Xshell 5.0 Build 1322, Xftp 5.0 Build 1218, and Xlpd 5.0 Build 1220 contain a malicious nssock2.dll that implements a multi-stage, DNS-based backdoor.","description":"NetSarang Xmanager Enterprise 5.0 Build 1232, Xmanager 5.0 Build 1045, Xshell 5.0 Build 1322, Xftp 5.0 Build 1218, and Xlpd 5.0 Build 1220 contain a malicious nssock2.dll that implements a multi-stage, DNS-based backdoor. The dormant library contacts a C2 DNS server via a specially crafted TXT record for a month‑generated domain. After receiving a decryption key, it then downloads and executes arbitrary code, creates an encrypted virtual file system (VFS) in the registry, and grants the attacker full remote code execution, data exfiltration, and persistence. NetSarang released builds for each product line that remediated the compromise: Xmanager Enterprise Build 1236, Xmanager Build 1049, Xshell Build 1326, Xftp Build 1222, and Xlpd Build 1224. Kaspersky Lab identified an instance of exploitation in the wild in August 2017.","published":"2025-10-09T17:15:57.000Z","lastModified":"2026-06-17T01:15:24.000Z","status":"Deferred","sourceIdentifier":"disclosure@vulncheck.com","cvss":{"version":"4.0","score":9.3,"severity":"CRITICAL","vector":"CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:H/SI:H/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/M"},"cwe":["CWE-506"],"affected":[],"epss":{"score":0.00667,"percentile":0.51648,"date":"2026-10-27","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 (0.67%). Schedule it in the normal patch cycle and watch for a rise in EPSS or a public exploit."},"changes":[],"references":[{"url":"https://securelist.com/shadowpad-in-corporate-networks/81432/","source":"disclosure@vulncheck.com"},{"url":"https://usa.kaspersky.com/about/press-releases/shadowpad-attackers-hid-backdoor-in-software-used-by-hundreds-of-large-companies-worldwide","source":"disclosure@vulncheck.com"},{"url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20181022035109/https://www.netsarang.com/news/security_exploit_in_july_18_2017_build.html","source":"disclosure@vulncheck.com"},{"url":"https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/netsarang-malicious-backdoor-supply-chain-compromise","source":"disclosure@vulncheck.com"}],"sources":{"nvd":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-20203","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."}