# CVE-2017-14491: Memory corruption in n/a

> Remote attackers can execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service via a crafted DNS response in dnsmasq.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 2 Oct 2017
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** A-158221622, ALPINE-CVE-2017-14491, ASB-A-158221622, CLEANSTART-2026-TE12187, DEBIAN-CVE-2017-14491, GHSA-m4px-ph3f-7964, RHSA-2017:2838, RHSA-2017:2839, RHSA-2017:2840, RHSA-2017:2841, UBUNTU-CVE-2017-14491

## What is CVE-2017-14491?

CVE-2017-14491 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Arubanetworks Arubaos, published on 2 Oct 2017. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Heap-based buffer overflow in dnsmasq before 2.78 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) or execute arbitrary code via a crafted DNS response.

Weakness: CWE-787 (Out-of-bounds Write)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-14491?

It affects 21 products.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `dnsmasq` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:2.48-18.el6_9 |
| `dnsmasq-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:2.48-18.el6_9 |
| `dnsmasq-utils` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:2.48-18.el6_9 |
| `dnsmasq` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:2.48-18.el6_9 |
| `dnsmasq-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:2.48-18.el6_9 |
| `dnsmasq-utils` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:2.48-18.el6_9 |
| `dnsmasq` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server | All versions | 0:2.48-18.el6_9 |
| `dnsmasq-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server | All versions | 0:2.48-18.el6_9 |
| `dnsmasq-utils` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server | All versions | 0:2.48-18.el6_9 |
| `dnsmasq` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::workstation | All versions | 0:2.48-18.el6_9 |
| `dnsmasq-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::workstation | All versions | 0:2.48-18.el6_9 |
| `dnsmasq-utils` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::workstation | All versions | 0:2.48-18.el6_9 |
| `dnsmasq` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:5.9 | All versions | 0:2.45-2.el5_9.1 |
| `dnsmasq-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:5.9 | All versions | 0:2.45-2.el5_9.1 |
| `dnsmasq` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:6.4::server | All versions | 0:2.48-13.el6_4.1 |
| `dnsmasq-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:6.4::server | All versions | 0:2.48-13.el6_4.1 |
| `dnsmasq-utils` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:6.4::server | All versions | 0:2.48-13.el6_4.1 |
| `dnsmasq` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:6.5::server | All versions | 0:2.48-13.el6_5.1 |
| `dnsmasq-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:6.5::server | All versions | 0:2.48-13.el6_5.1 |
| `dnsmasq-utils` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:6.5::server | All versions | 0:2.48-13.el6_5.1 |
| `dnsmasq` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:6.6::server | All versions | 0:2.48-14.el6_6.1 |
| `dnsmasq-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:6.6::server | All versions | 0:2.48-14.el6_6.1 |
| `dnsmasq-utils` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:6.6::server | All versions | 0:2.48-14.el6_6.1 |
| `dnsmasq` | Red Hat:rhel_els:5 | All versions | 0:2.45-2.el5_11.1 |
| `dnsmasq-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_els:5 | All versions | 0:2.45-2.el5_11.1 |
| `dnsmasq` | Red Hat:rhel_eus:6.7::computenode | All versions | 0:2.48-16.el6_7.1 |
| `dnsmasq-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_eus:6.7::computenode | All versions | 0:2.48-16.el6_7.1 |
| `dnsmasq-utils` | Red Hat:rhel_eus:6.7::computenode | All versions | 0:2.48-16.el6_7.1 |
| `dnsmasq` | Red Hat:rhel_eus:6.7::server | All versions | 0:2.48-16.el6_7.1 |
| `dnsmasq-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_eus:6.7::server | All versions | 0:2.48-16.el6_7.1 |
| `dnsmasq-utils` | Red Hat:rhel_eus:6.7::server | All versions | 0:2.48-16.el6_7.1 |
| `dnsmasq` | Red Hat:rhel_mission_critical:6.2::server | All versions | 0:2.48-5.el6_2.2 |
| `dnsmasq-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_mission_critical:6.2::server | All versions | 0:2.48-5.el6_2.2 |
| `dnsmasq` | Red Hat:rhel_tus:6.5::server | All versions | 0:2.48-13.el6_5.1 |
| `dnsmasq-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_tus:6.5::server | All versions | 0:2.48-13.el6_5.1 |
| `dnsmasq-utils` | Red Hat:rhel_tus:6.5::server | All versions | 0:2.48-13.el6_5.1 |
| `dnsmasq` | Red Hat:rhel_tus:6.6::server | All versions | 0:2.48-14.el6_6.1 |
| `dnsmasq-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_tus:6.6::server | All versions | 0:2.48-14.el6_6.1 |
| `dnsmasq-utils` | Red Hat:rhel_tus:6.6::server | All versions | 0:2.48-14.el6_6.1 |

Products: Arista Eos, Arubanetworks Arubaos, Canonical Ubuntu Linux, Debian Debian Linux, Huawei Honor V9 Play Firmware, Nvidia Geforce Experience, Nvidia Linux for Tegra, Opensuse Leap, Redhat Enterprise Linux Desktop, Redhat Enterprise Linux Server, Redhat Enterprise Linux Workstation, Siemens Ruggedcom Rm1224 Firmware, Siemens Scalance M-800 Firmware, Siemens Scalance S615 Firmware, Siemens Scalance W1750d Firmware, Suse Linux Enterprise Debuginfo, Suse Linux Enterprise Point of Sale, Suse Linux Enterprise Server, Synology Diskstation Manager, Synology Router Manager and 1 more.

## How do I fix CVE-2017-14491?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2017-14491 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2017-14491 exists.

Public exploit code:

- Dnsmasq < 2.78 - 2-byte Heap Overflow (exploitdb)
- https://github.com/skyformat99/dnsmasq-2.4.1-fix-CVE-2017-14491 (github_poc): https://github.com/skyformat99/dnsmasq-2.4.1-fix-CVE-2017-14491

## Other vulnerabilities in Arubanetworks Arubaos

- [CVE-2026-7473](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-7473/): Arista Extensible Operating System Incomplete Comparison with Missing Factors (medium 6.9, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2015-8236](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-8236/): Privilege escalation in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2020-10188](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-10188/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2017-18017](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-18017/): Use after free in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2023-24509](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-24509/): Privilege escalation in Arista EOS (critical 9.3)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2017-14491 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2017-14491 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Arubanetworks Arubaos, published on 2 Oct 2017. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2017-14491 exists.

Affected product: Arubanetworks Arubaos. 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-2017-14491/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-14491/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-14491
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-14491
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2017-14491

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-14491/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.