# CVE-2017-15088: Memory corruption in krb5 1.5

> Remote attackers can execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service via buffer overflow in MIT Kerberos 5 when processing untrusted X.509 data in specific configurations.

- **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:** 23 Nov 2017
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2017-15088, CLEANSTART-2024-LJ56468, DEBIAN-CVE-2017-15088, GHSA-3jq7-j743-cxfp, SUSE-SU-2017:2948-1, UBUNTU-CVE-2017-15088

## What is CVE-2017-15088?

CVE-2017-15088 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Mit Kerberos 5, published on 23 Nov 2017. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

plugins/preauth/pkinit/pkinit_crypto_openssl.c in MIT Kerberos 5 (aka krb5) through 1.15.2 mishandles Distinguished Name (DN) fields, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (buffer overflow and application crash) in situations involving untrusted X.509 data, related to the get_matching_data and X509_NAME_oneline_ex functions. NOTE: this has security relevance only in use cases outside of the MIT Kerberos distribution, e.g., the use of get_matching_data in KDC certauth plugin code that is specific to Red Hat.

Weakness: CWE-119 (Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer), CWE-121 (Stack-based Buffer Overflow)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-15088?

It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `krb5` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP2 | All versions | 1.12.5-40.16.1 |
| `krb5` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP3 | All versions | 1.12.5-40.16.1 |
| `krb5` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2 | All versions | 1.12.5-40.16.1 |
| `krb5` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP3 | All versions | 1.12.5-40.16.1 |
| `krb5` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for Raspberry Pi 12 SP2 | All versions | 1.12.5-40.16.1 |
| `krb5` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP2 | All versions | 1.12.5-40.16.1 |
| `krb5` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP3 | All versions | 1.12.5-40.16.1 |
| `krb5` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 12 SP2 | All versions | 1.12.5-40.16.1 |
| `krb5` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 12 SP3 | All versions | 1.12.5-40.16.1 |

Products: Mit Kerberos 5.

## How do I fix CVE-2017-15088?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2017-15088 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-15088 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Mit Kerberos 5

- [CVE-2011-0285](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-0285/): Use after free in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2008-0947](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-0947/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2007-5902](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2007-5902/): Integer overflow in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2007-4743](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2007-4743/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2007-3999](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2007-3999/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2017-15088 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2017-15088 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Mit Kerberos 5, published on 23 Nov 2017. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-15088 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Mit Kerberos 5. 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-2017-15088/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-15088/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-15088
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-15088
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2017-15088

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-15088/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.