# CVE-2017-1301: Path traversal in Spectrum Protect

> A local attacker can exploit insecure temporary file creation to overwrite arbitrary system files with elevated privileges via symlink attacks.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 5 Oct 2017
- **Updated:** 17 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-fw7p-w2p7-vc8c

## What is CVE-2017-1301?

CVE-2017-1301 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in IBM Spectrum Protect, published on 5 Oct 2017. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

IBM Spectrum Protect 7.1 and 8.1 could allow a local attacker to launch a symlink attack. IBM Spectrum Protect Backup-archive Client creates temporary files insecurely. A local attacker could exploit this vulnerability by creating a symbolic link from a temporary file to various files on the system, which could allow the attacker to overwrite arbitrary files on the system with elevated privileges. IBM X-Force ID: 125163.

Weakness: CWE-59 (Improper Link Resolution Before File Access)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-1301?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Ibm Tivoli Storage Manager.

## How do I fix CVE-2017-1301?

No fix has been published for CVE-2017-1301 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2017-1301 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-1301 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in IBM Spectrum Protect

- [CVE-2009-3854](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-3854/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2009-1178](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-1178/): Other in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2008-4563](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-4563/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2006-5855](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2006-5855/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2016-8937](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-8937/): Information disclosure in Spectrum Protect (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2017-1301 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2017-1301 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in IBM Spectrum Protect, published on 5 Oct 2017. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-1301 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: IBM Spectrum Protect. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-1301/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-1301/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-1301
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-1301
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2017-1301

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-1301/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.