# CVE-2017-13649: Privilege escalation in n/a

> Local attackers can escalate privileges or cause denial of service by modifying the PID file before a root script executes a kill command.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **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:** 23 Aug 2017
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-p387-c589-x473

## What is CVE-2017-13649?

CVE-2017-13649 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 23 Aug 2017. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

UnrealIRCd 4.0.13 and earlier creates a PID file after dropping privileges to a non-root account, which might allow local users to kill arbitrary processes by leveraging access to this non-root account for PID file modification before a root script executes a "kill `cat /pathname`" command. NOTE: the vendor indicates that there is no common or recommended scenario in which a root script would execute this kill command.

Weakness: CWE-665 (Improper Initialization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-13649?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Unrealircd Unrealircd.

## How do I fix CVE-2017-13649?

No fix has been published for CVE-2017-13649 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2017-13649 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-13649 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2016-7144](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-7144/): Auth bypass in n/a (high 8.1)
- [CVE-2023-50784](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-50784/): Memory corruption in n/a (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2010-2075](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-2075/): Supply chain in n/a (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2009-4893](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-4893/): Memory corruption in n/a (medium 6.8)
- [CVE-2013-6413](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6413/): Use after free in n/a (medium 5.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2017-13649 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2017-13649 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 23 Aug 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-2017-13649 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. 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-2017-13649/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-13649/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-13649
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-13649
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2017-13649

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-13649/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.