# CVE-2017-14159: Race condition in n/a

> Local attackers can kill arbitrary processes or escalate privileges by modifying the PID file before root scripts execute kill commands.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.7 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/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:** Yes
- **Published:** 5 Sep 2017
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2017-14159, CLEANSTART-2026-AF08303, DEBIAN-CVE-2017-14159, GHSA-xxfr-gfjr-h844

## What is CVE-2017-14159?

CVE-2017-14159 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Openldap Openldap, published on 5 Sep 2017. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

slapd in OpenLDAP 2.4.45 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, as demonstrated by openldap-initscript.

Weakness: CWE-665 (Improper Initialization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-14159?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Openldap Openldap, Oracle Blockchain Platform.

## How do I fix CVE-2017-14159?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2017-14159 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-14159 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Openldap Openldap

- [CVE-2015-3276](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-3276/): Weak cryptography in n/a (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2002-1378](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2002-1378/): Memory corruption in n/a (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2002-1379](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2002-1379/): Code injection in n/a (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2002-0045](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2002-0045/): Missing authorization in n/a (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2005-4442](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2005-4442/): Privilege escalation in n/a (high 7.2)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2017-14159 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2017-14159 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Openldap Openldap, published on 5 Sep 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-2017-14159 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Openldap Openldap. 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-2017-14159/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-14159/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-14159
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-14159
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2017-14159

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-14159/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.